Arsenal 2-1 Bayern Munich: Eddie Nketiah Stars as Gunners Make it 2 Wins From 2 in Pre-Season
Arsenal temporarily averted attentions from their lack of transfer activity by watching their side beat German champions Bayern Munich 2-1 in their International Champions Cup opener in Los Angeles.
Unai Emery fielded a strong starting lineup for the first half in the United States, with Alexandre Lacazette starting up front while there were also places in the XI for Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
It was a confident start for the Gunners, with Aubameyang causing havoc down both sides, offering direct running. The Gabon international nearly set up Ozil for the opener, but the German was denied by his fellow countryman Manuel Neuer in goal.
Bernd Leno was in between the sticks for Arsenal, and he too was busy, denying both Thomas Muller and Daniels Ontuzans in the space of a couple of minutes.
Chances fell for both sides in the opening 45 minutes, but was the Gunners, in their new away strip, who netted first just after the restart as Louis Poznanski inadvertently guided Aubameyang's cross into his own net.
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Former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry twice came close to haunting his old side, but substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez stopping halted the German with a well-timed dive.
Gnabry did play a part in Die Roten's equaliser though, setting up Robert Lewandowski, who continues to be a tormentor against Arsenal, as he headed home with less than 20 minutes remaining.
It was one of the younger players on the pitch who had the final say, however, as Arsenal snatched a win with just two minutes left on the clock. Tyreece John-Jules played a neat one-two with Calum Chambers, before firing across goal for Eddie Nketiah to poke into an unguarded net.
Speaking after the game, via Football London, Emery praised his youngsters' respective displays and insisted they would get extended playing time throughout pre-season.
"Our responsibility in this club for the history, present and future is to give young players chance. If they deserve minutes they'll get minutes," he said.
"I'm very happy with them and their work. We are going to play against Fiorentina on Saturday and will use young players. It's another chance for them to show us how they can respond."
