Arsenal were soundly beaten 3-1 by Real Betis in their pre-season friendly in Dublin on Wednesday.
Despite naming a starting XI made up entirely of first-team players, the Gunners conceded thrice in a first-half performnace marked by slack defending.
Rodrigo Riquelme opened the scoring for Betis after being left completely open at the backpost before Nelson Deossa doubled their lead with a thunderous strike from distance. Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was partly at fault for both goals — he missed the ball for the first and gave away the ball when playing out from his goal for the second.
Piero Hincapié provided cheer to the Arsenal fans in the Aviva Stadium, which was completely sold out, after heading home from a Christos Tzolis corner.
Betis quickly restored their two-goal advantage after Kai Havertz cheaply gave the ball away near his own box and Pablo Fornals took advantage to fire a shot in from the edge of the box.
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Mikel Arteta made a host of changes at the break, with Brazilian duo Gabriel Magalhães and Gabriel Martinelli both coming on for their first pre-season appearances since their World Cup exertions.
The Gunners struggled to build attacking momentum in the second half and were lucky not to conceded a fourth after a smart backheel flick from Isco was well saved by Islan Meslier.
Arsenal’s disappointing evening was exacerbated by the injury to Louie Copley, who went off early in the second half after appearing to damage his knee.
The Gunners’ next pre-season game comes against Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates Stadium on Aug. 9.
