Arsenal paid the price for a sloppy defensive performance as they slumped to defeat against Real Betis.
The Gunners conceded three times in a surprisingly poor first half showing, with former West Ham attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals one of the beneficiaries for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Mikel Arteta opted to name an unchanged team from the weekend’s victory over Girona, meaning starts for Kai Havertz, Ethan Nwaneri and summer signing Cristos Tzolis.
Kick-off at the Aviva Stadium was delayed by 15 minutes due to the Spanish side being stuck in traffic and it was the Premier League champions that looked sharper as they should have taken an early lead when Viktor Gyokeres fired Alvaro Valles from close range.
After weathering the early storm, Betis took the lead when Rodrigo Riquelme was left unmarked at the back post for a simple tap-in after Kepa Arrizabalaga had fumbled at a corner.
If the Arsenal goalkeeper was at fault for Betis’ opener, there was nothing he could do about their second. Nelson Deossa was afforded far too much space just outside the area and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
Real Betis strike first at the Aviva! 🌴
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 5, 2026
Riquelme takes advantage of poor Arsenal defending at the corner to open the scoring 👀 pic.twitter.com/1ubVDayElP
Piero Hincapie was on hand to reduce the deficit, benefitting from a Valles mistake at a corner, but Fornals restored Betis’ two-goal lead shortly before the break as he passed the ball into the net after Havertz had lost possession cheaply.
The second half was relatively lowkey. Arsenal did very little to suggest a comeback was on and, in truth, Betis looked the more likely to score again with Isco and Riquelme going close.
Arteta was able to hand minutes to Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli after the break, both playing for half an hour, but youngster Louie Copley did appear to suffer a serious injury as his studs got caught in the grass.
Next up for the Gunners is an Emirates Cup showdown against Borussia Dortmund on Sunday afternoon.
