
NUREMBERG, GERMANY – JULY 08: Kieran Tierney of Arsenal runs with the ball during the pre-season friendly match between 1. FC Nürnberg and Arsenal F.C. at Max-Morlock-Stadion on July 08, 2022 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
2. Kieran Tierney’s return
Well, brief return. The Scottish full-back sent a scare through the entire fanbase when Cedric came on to replace him after just 30 minutes of play. Fans were scrambling to find out why the 25-year-old was taken off.
After missing the last ten games of the league season due to a knee injury, there were fresh fears that the Scottish star had injured himself again. Thankfully, news quickly filtered through that it was planned to take the defender off at the half-hour mark.
https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1545432284676988930?s=20&t=p4KW1pDe7A_6opvDymuGHw
Mikel Arteta stated just as much after the game via arsenal.com:
“He’s really good. He’s been training really good. Obviously he’s been out for over three months now so we wanted to give him a proper warm-up, play the first half an hour and then get him out.
“So he was in good condition and there’s no issues there.”
Tierney was rusty in the first half, something to be expected given he had over three months out. But it was good to see our left-back go on bombarding runs down his flank and whip balls into the box.
With an eye on the Premier League opener, it looks like it will be a slow and steady approach with Tierney as he gets back into the groove of things. Aside from Gabriel Jesus flying about on the pitch, seeing Tierney get some game time was a welcomed sight.
Continued on the next slide…
arsenal.com:
<blockquote><p>“He’s really good. He’s been training really good. Obviously he’s been out for over three months now so we wanted to give him a proper warm-up, play the first half an hour and then get him out.</p>
<p>“So he was in good condition and there’s no issues there.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Tierney was rusty in the first half, something to be expected given he had over three months out. But it was good to see our left-back go on bombarding runs down his flank and whip balls into the box.</p>
<p>With an eye on the Premier League opener, it looks like it will be a slow and steady approach with Tierney as he gets back into the groove of things. Aside from Gabriel Jesus flying about on the pitch, seeing Tierney get some game time was a welcomed sight.</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/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Positive #3 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_127592" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-127592 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1407582953.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1407582953.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1407582953-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">NUREMBERG, GERMANY – JULY 08: Mikel Arteta, head coach of Arsenal talks to his players during the pre-season friendly match between 1. FC Nürnberg and Arsenal F.C. at Max-Morlock-Stadion on July 08, 2022 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>3. The Arsenal fightback</h2>
<p>The first half was as poor as Arsenal could have played. Granted, the team was made up of players who are expected to be moved on in the coming weeks, but the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Sambi Lokonga, and Eddie Nketiah all started, so the performance should have been better.</p>
<p>What was pleasing was the turnaround in the second half. Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Mohamed Elneny, and Gabriel all came on, and the difference was immediately noticeable.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1545458597454385153?s=20&t=p4KW1pDe7A_6opvDymuGHw</p>
<p>The players likely would have had the hairdryer treatment at half-time by Mikel Arteta, and they emerged a different beast as they overwhelmed Nurnberg in a devastating 12-minute spell.</p>
<p>Some will say that it’s only pre-season, and while yes, that is true, the team’s performances at this time last year were horrid. The way the switch was flicked and thanks mainly in part to the arrivals of the three Gabriels and Elneny, the Gunners ruthlessly clicked into gear.</p>
<p>The first-half performance was quickly forgotten, as it should be, but the second-half performance was far better and showed the type of football the team can play if it wants to.</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/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Positive #4 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_120059" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-120059 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1344347557.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Charlie Patino" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1344347557.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1344347557-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 01: Charlie Patino of Arsenal looks on during the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal U23 and Brighton & Hove Albion U23 at Emirates Stadium on October 01, 2021, in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>4. Charlie Patino impresses</h2>
<p>While all eyes were on Gabriel Jesus, and rightly so as the Brazilian is the headline act, Charlie Patino again put forward a solid case to see some serious first-team minutes this season.</p>
<p>In his 20-minute cameo, the young midfielder glided across the pitch. He picked up good positions and was always available for a pass as he made time slow down every time he was near the ball.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="de" dir="ltr">Charlie Patino cameo vs FC Nurnberg <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://t.co/BN0F68WCvv">pic.twitter.com/BN0F68WCvv
<p>— Hale End (@HaleEndStuff) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://twitter.com/HaleEndStuff/status/1545486259136741377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>His dribbling, close control, progressive passing, and football IQ were all on display as he kept popping up in good positions in the final third and ticked things over nicely in the second half.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="2A3b6TLb0Q"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/3-talking-points-arsenal-5-3-pre-season-win-nurnberg/">FC. Nurnberg 3-5 Arsenal – 3 talking points from pre-season win</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/4-positives-arsenal-defeat-fc-nurnberg/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/07/09/3-talking-points-arsenal-5-3-pre-season-win-nurnberg/embed/#?secret=2A3b6TLb0Q" data-secret="2A3b6TLb0Q" width="500" height="282" title="“FC. Nurnberg 3-5 Arsenal – 3 talking points from pre-season win” — Pain in the Arsenal" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>The 18-year-old was cool, calm, and composed on the ball and showed exactly why he is so highly thought of at the club. Expect big things from our Hale End star this season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">