Myles Lewis-Skelly appeared to send a message to Arsenal fans after scoring in a pre-season draw with Como.
The Gunners closed out their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw with Cesc Fabregas’ side, with Lewis-Skelly scoring the opener for his boyhood club in the first half.
His strike came after the previous 24 hours had left him at the centre of swirling transfer rumours, with Standard Sport reporting Chelsea and Manchester United had both been offered the chance to sign him.
But after taking advantage of a poor pass out from Jean Butez and slotting home from the edge of the box, Lewis-Skelly addressed the fans. He flashed a heart sign with his hands to all four stands, before beating the badge on his chest, seeming to suggest he was prepared to stay put at the club he has represented since he was eight years old.
Arsenal are expected to remain busy in the transfer market this summer, but after this imperious performance in the middle of the park, Lewis-Skelly has let his football do the talking. He seems ready to fight for his place, regardless of the £75m signing of Bruno Guimaraes.
Mikel Arteta named a fairly strong side from the off against Como, despite leaving Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi out of the matchday squad. Eberechi Eze played his first minutes since returning from his post-World Cup holidays, as did the second-half substitute Noni Madueke.
Having gone winless in either of their previous two friendly outings, where they shipped a total of six goals to Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund, the Gunners needed a prompt improvement here.
And that is exactly what they did. From the word ‘go’, they kept Como pinned with a stifling press, forcing Butez into a number of errors which they struggled to punish, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli combining to flub some presentable chances.
Eventually, though, it was one of the ‘keeper’s misplaced passes which created the opener, with Lewis-Skelly taking advantage.
Arsenal could not build on their lead and were pegged back by a moment of magic from Croatia star Martin Baturina. One of Como’s rare expeditions into the attacking third, he ghosted through half-hearted tackles from Theo Julienne and Max Dowman before hammering a powerful finish past Kepa Arrizabalaga on the stroke of half-time to equalise.
Arteta introduced the cavalry at half-time, throwing on the likes of debutant Guimaraes, Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres, with a further six changes coming with half an hour left to play.
In spite of all the added quality, chances remained few and far between. In a grim continuation of last season, set pieces seemed Arsenal’s most threatening moments, though a winner did not come.
The pre-planned penalty shootout would prove decisive, then, and Arsenal a pair of smart saves from David Raya gave Arsenal the advantage before Christos Tzolis buried his own spot-kick to secure victory.
