'Impressive': Media wowed by £27m Arsenal ace's display v Nurnberg

Arsenal got their pre-season friendly programme under way on Thursday with a 1-1 draw against Nurnberg in Germany.

The Gunners were quick out of the blocks against the 2. Bundesliga outfit, Bukayo Saka opening the scoring in the seventh minute.

Saka cut in from the right flank before striking a trademark finish into the far corner, picking up where he left off from last term.

The 21-year-old then had an opportunity to double Arsenal’s lead when Christian Mathenia parried his shot from the edge of the box.

Arsenal were comfortable for the entirety of the first half and were rarely tested by their opponents.

Mikel Arteta made wholesale changes at the interval, with Kai Havertz coming on for his debut in red and white.

The Arsenal boss also brought on Gabriel Jesus, Kieran Tierney, Jorginho, Cedric Soares and goalkeeper Karl Hein.

Then, early in the second half, Folarin Balogun replaced January signing Leandro Trossard.

Arsenal continued to impress and had chances to increase their lead, but a mistake at the back let Nurnberg back in.

Hein’s hesitant pass from the back was pounced upon by Kanji Okunuki, who slotted first-time into the empty net.

Obviously you can’t read too much into pre-season performances and results, particularly the very first match.

One player stood out for Arsenal for how good he was – Bukayo Saka.

The 21-year-old’s last outing, for England last month, saw him score a superb hat-trick.

Saka has much picked up from where he left off with another standout performance.

However, there were other players who did well, including Leandro Trossard.

‘Confident’

Two media outlets that rated Arsenal’s players – football.london and Sportbible – both lauded the Belgian.

Football.london gave him 7 out of 10, writing: ‘Some typically impressive link up play with his teammates.

‘The Belgian looks so at home in this Arsenal side.

‘It’s been interesting to see him getting minutes in the left eight position.’

Sportbible also gave him 7 out of 10, writing: ‘Played a deeper role than usual and looked comfortable.

‘The Belgian buzzed around the midfield, setting up several attacks with confident forward passes.

‘Leandro Trossard then moved into a false-9 position for the second half, but was forced off with a knock in the 55th minute.’

It’s certainly interesting to see the £27million man play in midfield, and he was outstanding in that role too.

If Arteta has the thought of changing Trossard’s position in mind, Thursday’s outing was certainly a good start.