With just under three weeks to go until kicking off the defence of their Premier League crown, Arsenal continued their pre-season preparations with a win over Girona to claim the Costa Brava trophy and make it two wins from two this summer having beaten MK Dons in a behind-closed-doors match at the training ground last weekend.
Arsenal summer signing Christos Tzolis was on target at the Estadi Municipal, as were Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, but the star of the show was wonderkid Max Dowman as he claimed the assist for the opening goal of the game before getting on the scoresheet with a fine effort that gave former Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga no chance.
Girona faced the Gunners in the Champions League 18 months ago, but have since fallen on hard times after suffering the agony of relegation from LaLiga to the second division in Spain. The hosts did reduce the deficit early in the second half with Arnau Martinez’s thumping header, but that proved to be nothing more than a consolation. Follow Girona vs Arsenal back below with our dedicated match blog.
Girona vs Arsenal latest news
- GOAL! Gabriel Jesus adds a fourth
- GOAL! Dowman restores two-goal lead
- GOAL! Martinez thunders a header past Kepa
- GOAL! Tzolis doubles Arsenal's lead with deflected effort
- GOAL! Havertz puts Arsenal ahead from Dowman assist
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:52 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Ben White lifts the Costa Brava Trophy for Arsenal.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:50 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Kai Havertz gets the player of the match award. It’s a big gold star!
He may have some issues getting that back to London.
Presentation
20:50 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
For their victory this evening, Arsenal will be presented with the Costa Brava Trophy.
FULL-TIME
20:46 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:45 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
89 min: The eight-second goal kick rule is used against Arsenal and Meslier. But the corner comes to nothing.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:42 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
86 min: Julienne and Agustien replace Jesus and Copley.
However, the biggest cheer is for home side favourite Stuani.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:39 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
83 min: Meslier called into action once more to keep out an effort from Ruiz. Arsenal cut open far too easily by Martin’s ball over the top.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:37 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
80 min: Ooooh, Clarke may have got away with one there as he clips Ruiz after making a clearance. No VAR here this evening, so the on-field decision of no penalty will stand.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:34 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
78 min: Kabia goes sliding into the advertising hoardings and requires lengthy treatment from the Arsenal medical staff. His head to hit the board, so checking for a possible concussion.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:32 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
76 min: Nelson cuts in and dinks a cross into the box where O’Neill gets up nice and early but can’t keep his header underneath the crossbar.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:28 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
71 min: Here comes the second half cooling break. Girona fans are still on a high after Cristhian Stuani was shown doing some stretches on the sidelines. He is a legend here.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:25 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
69 min: More Girona changes here, four in total.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:23 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
67 min: Confirmation of the Girona changes too...
🔁 Canvis al Girona:
— Girona FC (@GironaFC) August 1, 2026
➡️ Krapyvtsov, Antal, Badia, Iván Martín, Abel i Pyshchur
⬅️ Gazzaniga, David López, Van de Beek, Lass, Àlex Moreno i Vanat pic.twitter.com/3T6Pb9d9fG
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:22 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
66 min: Right, confirmation of the Arsenal subs...
A flurry of substitutions...
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 1, 2026
↩️ Arrizabalaga, White, Tzolis, Nwaneri, Dowman, Vieira, Mosquera, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly
🔛 Meslier, Nelson, Kabia, Ibrahim, Copley, Clarke, O'Neill, Harriman-Annous, Ogunnaike
🔴 1-4 🔵 (61) pic.twitter.com/GDXL0JRzkT
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:22 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
65 min: Copley with a good run forward, combines with Kabia before cutting the ball back for Jesus who drags an effort wide. Should be hitting the target there, the Brazilian forward.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:20 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
63 min: Harriman-Annous pounces on a loose ball but his progress towards goal is halted by Martin and Arsenal have a free-kick in a promising position. Nelson sends Jesus away...
And he strikes his effort right into the top of the wall.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:18 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
62 min: Meslier is also and is is forced into action twice in quick succession as he makes two reflex saves to deny Ruiz and Pyshchur
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:17 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
60 min: A raft of changes for both sides on the hour mark.
Nelson, Kabia, Clarke, Ibrahim and Harriman-Annous among those sent on by Arteta.
Girona 1-4 Arsenal
20:15 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
59 min: Dowman can do everything! He’s already got a goal and an assist this evening, now he tracks all the way back to produce a fine sliding tackle.
However, the youngster sells Kepa short with a back pass and is relieved to see his goalkeeper make a save from close range.
GOAL! Girona 1-4 Arsenal | Gabriel Jesus ‘55
20:12 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
55 min: ARSENAL SCORE AGAIN!
Ruthless from Arsenal as Gabriel Jesus punishes a defensive mistake to extend the lead.
GOAL! Girona 1-3 Arsenal | Max Dowman ‘52
20:10 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
52 min: DOWMAN ON TARGET!
Max Dowman receives a pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly and drives an effort low into the bottom corner. Girona protests come to nothing as Moreno claimed to have been struck in the face by the Arsenal goalscorer.
GOAL! Girona 1-2 Arsenal | Arnau Martinez ‘50
20:06 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
50 min: Good defending from Salmon to clear Moreno’s cross. Girona do win a corner but Mosquera heads clear before Vanat’s effort takes a deflection to win another corner which is met by Arnau Martinez as he thunders home a header past Kepa.
Fan reaction: Arsenal's forgotten man
20:02 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
See technical quality at display. Fabio Vieira 🥺
— lloyd (@freelloyyd) August 1, 2026
KICK-OFF!
20:01 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Back underway in Spain.
Doesn’t look like any further Arsenal changes, so it’s the team that ended the first half.
Fan reaction: Nwaneri's first-half
19:59 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Nwaneri been impressive.
— Denis (@DBK11th) August 1, 2026
Nwaneri, I need to see better
— Tolu (@nobletolu) August 1, 2026
Fan thoughts: Arsenal dominant
19:53 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Tzolis Dowman Cala MLS really showing out here. Some good football first half
— JRThreadzZ (@JRThreadz) August 1, 2026
Fan reaction: Tzolis impressing
19:50 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Tzolis has looked really really good
— RohanJivan (@RohanJivanAFC) August 1, 2026
Loving the look of him so far. Very techy.
HALF-TIME
19:47 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
Gunners lead at the break thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis.
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
19:45 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
45 min: It’s all Arsenal at the moment as they seek a third goal before the break. Girona just can’t get out or even get a touch of the ball. Dowman does well to drive into the box and goes down, but no penalty.
One minute of stoppage time indicated.
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
19:41 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
40 min: It has been billed as a pre-season friendly, but someone may have forgotten to inform Lass of that. Girona youngster flying into tackles as he leaves one on White near the corner flag.
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
19:39 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
39 min: Nice play from Dowman down the right as he cuts inside Moreno and then plays a reverse pass to White but he overhits his cross into the box where he had Jesus and Tzolis to pick out.
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
19:38 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
38 min: Jesus’ first involvement is to commit a foul on Frances but Girona are unable to make the most of the set-piece situation and Arsenal quickly have the ball back, looking to mount an attack through Tzolis.
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
19:34 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
34 min: Fabio Vieira is also on in midfield, replacing Kai Havertz. Understand those changes were pre-planned as the three who have come off only returned to training this week after their World Cup exploits.
Girona 0-2 Arsenal
19:33 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
33 min: Arsenal changes during the first-half break as Jesus replaces Gyokeres and Salmon comes on for Hincapie.
GOAL! Girona 0-2 Arsenal | Christos Tzolis ‘30
19:31 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
30 min: ARSENAL SCORE AGAIN!
Superb play from Ethan Nwaneri to put Riccardo Calafiori clear, he feeds the ball to Christos Tzolis who cuts in and shoots, finding the bottom corner via a deflection.
Girona 0-1 Arsenal
19:29 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
28 min: Tzolis with a teasing cross which is met by Mosquera but he glances a header wide of Gazzaniga’s post.
Girona 0-1 Arsenal
19:26 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
26 min: Intricate play from Arsenal down the left as Tzolis tries to tee up Gyokeres for a goal instead of shooting himself and the Gunners’ No14 just couldn’t adjust his feet in time and Girona scramble the ball clear.
Girona 0-1 Arsenal
19:24 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
24 min: A slip from Nwaneri gifts possession back to Girona in a dangerous area but Dowman tracks back to stop any attack from developing.
Girona 0-1 Arsenal
19:23 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
23 min: Kai Havertz with the opening goal of the game here in Spain.
Girona 0-1 Arsenal
19:21 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
21 min: Martinez, up from right-back, with a speculative effort from distance that fizzes wide. Kepa looked to have had that covered all the way.
Girona 0-1 Arsenal
19:18 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
18 min: Nearly a second goal for Arsenal as Lewis-Skelly lifts the ball over the Girona defence, picking out Havertz but he can’t slide the ball across the face of goal where Gyokeres was waiting for a tap-in.
GOAL! Girona 0-1 Arsenal | Kai Havertz ‘16
19:16 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
16 min: ARSENAL LEAD!
Max Dowman with a wonderful turn and he picks out the run of Kai Havertz, who then makes no mistake from close range.
Girona 0-0 Arsenal
19:15 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
15 min: Arsenal’s corner comes to nothing as the whistle goes before the ball can even get into the box, foul spotted by White.
Girona 0-0 Arsenal
19:14 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
14 min: Girona have Arsenal penned in here and a pull-back almost falls for Van De Beek but Nwaneri makes a timely tackle. Then at the other end, Dowman is crowded out and has to settle for a corner.
Girona 0-0 Arsenal
19:09 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
9 min: Arsenal looking stretched defensively and Tzolis tracks all the way back to the back post and heads a cross away. He now comes across to take a free-kick after Dowman was fouled.
The delivery is good as Gyokeres pulls away and heads the ball on but Calafiori heads straight at Gazzaniga.
Girona 0-0 Arsenal
19:07 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
7 min: Not sure Gazzaniga appreciates all of these back passes. He is forced into a rushed clearance as Gyokeres attempts to charge him down.
Girona 0-0 Arsenal
19:05 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
5 min: Now it’s Arsenal’s turn to suffer without the ball as Girona enjoy a period of possession which was briefly broken up by White following a foul.
Girona 0-0 Arsenal
19:03 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
3 min: Arsenal have settled quickly, dominating possession with Tzolis and Havertz already seeing plenty of the ball.
The pair combine down the left as Havertz flashes the ball across the face of goal but Gyokeres can’t get in front of his marker.
KICK-OFF!
19:01 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
Away we go!
Girona vs Arsenal LIVE
18:59 , Tashan Deniran-Alleyne
No involvement this evening for Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel.
However, the Brazilian pair are in attendance after joining up with the squad this week following World Cup duty.
