INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 26: Jurrien Timber #12 of Arsenal controls the ball against Sergino Dest #2 of FC Barcelona in the first half of a pre-season friendly match at SoFi Stadium on July 26, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
5 standout players from Arsenal’s 5-3 victory over Barcelona
Gabriel Jesus impressed without scoring. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
2. Gabriel Jesus
Except for the fact that the second-best player on the pitch in my opinion was Gabriel Jesus. After his injury, Jesus suffered a bit of a blip and didn’t look quite the same player. However, he looked like he was back to his pre-injury best in LA.
His ability to dribble past players anywhere on the pitch, including in the penalty area, is unmatched. He jigs and turns and zags and sometimes I can’t even keep up through the TV screen. He almost created a magical goal for Bukayo Saka with some wizardry in the box but the cross didn’t quite find its target.
A not-so-underrated but very important aspect of Jesus’ profile is how much of a battler he is. He’ll always give the team all of his effort and he is very smart about how he uses his body. For Trossard’s goal, Ramsdale launched the ball deep into the opposition half and Jesus tussled with the defender who can only clear it a few yards to the Belgian who then finishes. I don’t think Jesus is trying to win that header, he is just making the clearance as difficult as possible, and in this case, it resulted in a goal.
Jesus at his best is such a good performer and the kind of player that teammates, fans and managers alike love. Getting him back on form will be a massive boost for Arsenal and it looks like the attacking options are varied for Mikel Arteta, despite not signing a forward.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/zW4NUwER1q
<p>— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"https://twitter.com/ChrisWheatley/status/1684501984190025729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>However, those are the requirements of playing under Arteta. He doesn’t accept low intensity and the win was well-deserved against a solid, if slightly rusty opponent.</p>
<h2>5 standout players from Arsenal’s 5-3 victory over Barcelona</h2>
<p>It was a great performance from the whole team but some players in particular stood out.</p>
<h2>1. Leandro Trossard</h2>
<p>Without a doubt, the main standout performer was a Belgian man by the name of Leandro Trossard. He scored two very good goals and was a constant thorn in the Barcelona side.</p>
<p>With every game Trossard plays, his quality becomes more and more evident and it seems like he is not happy being a back-up. <a title="3 winners & losers from Arsenal’s pre-season US tour" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/28/3-winners-losers-arsenals-pre-season-us-tour/" rel="">Given how he has played in pre-season</a>, Arteta almost has no choice but to find a way to fit him into the side. If not, Trossard needs to be the first sub brought on every game.</p>
<p>He plays in such an intelligent way, as evidenced in the game against Barça. He makes very good decisions on the ball and rarely wastes the ball or a chance.</p>
<p>His first goal was brilliant attacking play, fixing the defender before making a half-space for a left footed-shot that finds its way to the opposite bottom corner. His second goal was a snapshot finish from a great Kieran Tierney cross.</p>
<p>Trossard showed what he could do centrally in the game and was the difference-maker in the end. As good as he is out wide, in the centre of the pitch he can have a devastating impact. Arteta may even be thinking of employing him in the centre of that attack, replacing Gabriel Jesus.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 standout performer </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135548" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1556779448-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1556779448-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1556779448-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1556779448-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1556779448-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Gabriel Jesus impressed without scoring. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>2. Gabriel Jesus</h2>
<p>Except for the fact that the second-best player on the pitch in my opinion was <a title="Arsenal 5-3 Barcelona: Player ratings as Gunners end tour on a high" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/27/arsenal-barcelona-player-ratings/" rel="">Gabriel Jesus</a>. After his injury, Jesus suffered a bit of a blip and didn’t look quite the same player. However, he looked like he was back to his pre-injury best in LA.</p>
<p>His ability to dribble past players anywhere on the pitch, including in the penalty area, is unmatched. He jigs and turns and zags and sometimes I can’t even keep up through the TV screen. He almost created a magical goal for Bukayo Saka with some wizardry in the box but the cross didn’t quite find its target.</p>
<p>A not-so-underrated but very important aspect of Jesus’ profile is how much of a battler he is. He’ll always give the team all of his effort and he is very smart about how he uses his body. For Trossard’s goal, Ramsdale launched the ball deep into the opposition half and Jesus tussled with the defender who can only clear it a few yards to the Belgian who then finishes. I don’t think Jesus is trying to win that header, he is just making the clearance as difficult as possible, and in this case, it resulted in a goal.</p>
<p>Jesus at his best is such a good performer and the kind of player that teammates, fans and managers alike love. Getting him back on form will be a massive boost for Arsenal and it looks like the attacking options are varied for Mikel Arteta, despite not signing a forward.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 standout performer </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p>https://twitter.com/Lacazest/status/1684891353308614658</p>
<h2>3. Emile Smith Rowe</h2>
<p>Smith Rowe has just turned 23 which is quite amazing considering how long he has been around the Arsenal first team. A long-term injury kept him out for much of last season and when he had recovered he didn’t have much game time.</p>
<p>However, with each pre-season appearance he has looked a little bit sharper and more match-fit. In the game against Barça, he particularly caught my eye. He didn’t play incredibly well but he looked fast and had a couple of nice combinations.</p>
<p>The thing about ESR is that if he gets going, he is incredibly difficult to play against. Carrying the ball at lightning pace, with one-touch passes, he offers something to the team that other midfielders like Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz don’t offer. He moves the ball at such a fast pace and he has an effective way of striking the ball.</p>
<p>I’ve been a massive fan of Smith Rowe since that breakout season under Arteta and he was, along with Saka, the first player to inspire hope among fans. If he can raise his level, he will be a real difference-maker for this team and he could slot in beautifully into that Xhaka role if given the chance. It’s now up to Arteta whether he can afford to give ESR some games to settle into that role or not.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #4 standout performer </a>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The ball flies off of his boot like few in the sport despite the fact that he’s a classic diminutive little Spaniard/Portuguese type.</p>
<p>It would be nothing short of foolish to doubt Fábio Vieira.<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"https://t.co/clpyZhaafm">pic.twitter.com/clpyZhaafm
<p>— EBL (@EBL2017) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"https://twitter.com/EBL2017/status/1684496729331081218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>4. Fabio Vieira</h2>
<p>He’s small and he doesn’t look that physical. He hasn’t always looked that sharp in games and I can understand why some fans have doubted Fabio Vieira. However, there is no doubt in my mind that his qualities will eventually shine through.</p>
<p>Few players in football have such innate ball striking that they can make a difference out of nothing, score or create a goal out of the smallest of circumstances. Vieira’s strike against Barça was beautiful, flying from his foot straight into the top corner.</p>
<p>Not many players in this Arsenal squad are G/A demons. Players like Saka, Odegaard, and Gabriel Martinelli put in great numbers but that is more due to great collective play. With a player like Vieira, get him the ball in dangerous situations and he will create goals.</p>
<p>Hopefully, this will be his breakout season and he will challenge for a starting place in the team. He has an incredibly high ceiling and Arteta will be determined to help him reach it.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/29/5-standout-players-arsenal-victory-barcelona/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #5 standout performer </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p>https://twitter.com/sjayy24s/status/1684701861536751616</p>
<h2>5. William Saliba</h2>
<p>Look at the piece of defending and skill at 2:15 in the above tweet and remind yourself that William Saliba is a centre-back.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>The 22-year-old is just an incredible player with such an aura around him. While it was not his best-ever performance in an Arsenal shirt, there were a lot of signs that I really liked about his play.</p>
<p>Last season, Saliba did look a bit clunky from time to time, which is unsurprising considering his size and frame. However, he looked a lot more comfortable and at ease against the Spanish opposition.</p>
<p>It is rare for a centre-back of his age to look so composed and experienced. He started playing as a defender when he was 14 years old but it looks like he came out of the womb as a centre-half.</p>
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<p>As he continues to mature, he will dominate the Premier League and the Champions League. Of all the Arsenal squad, he is one of the most assured players and I can’t wait to see him boss opponents all season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">
