sport news Arthur Okonkwo will bounce back and other things we learned from Arsenal defeat ...

sport news Arthur Okonkwo will bounce back and other things we learned from Arsenal defeat ...
sport news Arthur Okonkwo will bounce back and other things we learned from Arsenal defeat ...
Arsenal's rookie keeper Arthur Okonkwo will bounce back after horror error allowed Hibs to score, as first-team stars with unclear futures slip to surprise Easter Road defeat... things we learned from the Gunners' opening pre-season clash

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Arsenal kicked off their pre-season with a 2-1 defeat by Hibernian.

Mikel Arteta’s side conceded once in each half against the Scottish Premiership side at Easter Road.

Firstly Martin Boyle tapped into an empty next after a mistake from goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and then, after the break, sub Daniel Mackay nodded in Hibs’s second with his first touch after coming off the bench.

Emile Smith Rowe (left) netted a late consolation goal for Arsenal in their 2-1 defeat by Hibs

Emile Smith Rowe (left) netted a late consolation goal for Arsenal in their 2-1 defeat by Hibs

The game saw Arsenal's rookie keeper Arthur Okonkwo (right) make a horrendous error to allow Hibernian to take the lead through Martin Boyle (left)

The game saw Arsenal's rookie keeper Arthur Okonkwo (right) make a horrendous error to allow Hibernian to take the lead through Martin Boyle (left)

Half-time subs Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith Rowe helped give Arsenal a greater threat after the break.

Thomas Partey hit the post with a free-kick and Arsenal were initially denied a goal back when Pepe saw his penalty saved by Kevin Dabrowski.

But Smith Rowe did grab an Arsenal consolation with eight minutes left when he turned in Hector Bellerin’s cross.

Shape of the squad

As is often the case for early pre-season games, it is mix and match sides that are fielded and wholesale changes made throughout.

In Arsenal’s case a number of players whose futures remain uncertain were still involved at Easter Road highlighting the work that could still need to be done before the season starts.

Sead Kolasinac, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Willian and Edde Nketiah all started

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