The perfect role for Emery's young guns
Arsenal were on the rocks when Unai Emery turned to his bench, throwing Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka in at the deep end as the Gunners tried to hold Isco, Marcelo et al at bay.
What he was rewarded with was a punchy performance of counter-attacking football in which Arsenal could well have had one or more goal. Nketiah spurned a brace of chances in short succession whilst better decision-making from Nelson could well have brought a goal for one of his team-mates.
Yet pre-season is not about results, as pleasurable as it would have been for Arsenal to sign off their tour of the USA rather than a penalty shootout defeat. What Emery learned from those final 15 minutes at FedEx Field was that his young talents are sufficiently fearless and instinctive to be able to take the game to any opponent.
"In the last minutes, the young players' impact was amazing," Emery said. "This moment for them, for us, was perfect.
"In the transition we were very good and with the ball we created chances."
Their impact off the bench could well change many more matches for Arsenal in the coming season.
Jenkinson's Arsenal lifeline
With one more year left on his contract and few clubs queueing up to take him off Arsenal's hands it appears that Carl Jenkinson's boyhood dream of playing for the Gunners has at least a little bit longer left to run. Indeed the coming weeks might offer at least some chance for the 27-year-old to prove his value is more than just sentimental.
Unai Emery was unable to offer a timescale on when Ainsley Maitland-Niles will return from his tight calf whilst Shkodran Mustafi, another option to play right-back, is struggling with an injury of his own. There is a strong chance that Jenkinson will feature against Lyon in Sunday's Emirates Cup tie.
A repeat of his performance against Real Madrid would do him no harm. Tasked with holding back Ferland Mendy and Eden Hazard Jenkinson gave as good as he got; inevitably there were moments when he was unable to hold back the tide but the same would be true of many a full-back.
It was on the attacking end that Jenkinson particularly impressed, his driving runs on the overlap allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to dart infield. His crossing offered plenty of difficulties for Real Madrid and one fizzing cross-shot asked quite the question of Keylor Navas in the Real Madrid goal.
Jenkinson may never be the greatest right-back there ever was but Arsenal can rest assured in the knowledge that he will give his all for the cause whenever a chance comes his way. He will not waste this one.
Emery's red card difficulties
A manager as meticulous as Emery seems to plan for every eventuality, except a red card. All too often last season Arsenal seemed discombobulated not just when they were brought down to 10 men but when their opponents were too.
Whilst it may feel counterintuitive to say that Arsenal were not at their best when they had a man advantage, considering they won that period 2-0, but it was a view that Emery shared with many observers.
No wonder Emery remarkably asked the referee to give Madrid a player back.
"When we were playing 11 vs 11 we were playing well," he said. "After the red, we preferred to play against 11 and asked the referee if we could play against 11 again but they didn't support that chance.
"When we had some moments playing progressively 11 vs 10 we were not controlling the game like we wanted. Ten vs 10 was the same situation at the beginning.
"We didn't control the match, maybe because we were winning 2-0. I think we could have taken more of the ball, kept the ball with the possession. Maybe sometimes we didn't do that but in the transition we were very strong."
Arsenal were still reactive even when a man up, not the protagonists they wanted to be. They had dangerous weapons on the counter with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil yet they had the chance to put their boot on Madrid's throat, to shatter their reserves of confidence and energy before the second half.
It will be a cause for concern to Emery that they failed to do so.
Willock's promise
With the possible exception of Eddie Nketiah, no player will return from the USA with their reputation quite as burnished as Joe Willock. In only 45 minutes against Real Madrid the 19-year-old showed his performance against Bayern Munich was no flash in the pan.
Willock brings an intriguing blend of skills to Emery's midfield. In attack he has similar qualities to Aaron Ramsey, intelligent interplay around the box and an ability to find space to unleash a shot.
It is what he can do out of possession that makes him such a promising prospect. Only Lucas Torreira presses opponents with such relish and even he is not as successful at sneaking up on an opponent's blindside as Willock.
Truly the midfielder is proving to be an intriguing option for Emery, one he would do well to exploit on a regular basis in the coming season.
