Arsenal 3-0 Lyon: Fabio Vieira, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel give Premier League leaders the perfect start to Dubai tournament... before they win a DREADFUL penalty shootout for a bonus point!

Arsenal warmed up for the resumption of the Premier League season in style by cruising to a comfortable 3-0 win over Lyon in the first of their Dubai Super Cup fixtures.

First-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira gave Mikel Arteta's side the advantage at the interval against the Ligue 1 outfit.

The cushion allowed Arteta to make wholesale changes in the second half and he brought several youngsters off the bench as the Gunners saw out the victory.

Arsenal secured a bonus point by winning a penalty shootout 2-1, with goalkeeper Karl Hein making four saves in a low-quality contest.

Arteta named a strong side for the first half, with Martin Odegaard, Nketiah and Vieira making an early impression.

Reiss Nelson struck the base of the Lyon post in the opening minutes of the contest after strong work from Nketiah before Gabriel headed over from an Odegaard free-kick.

The Brazilian then made no mistake from a corner, which followed Vieira being denied when one-on-one, as he planted a firm header beyond Anthony Lopes from Odegaard's delivery. 

Nketiah doubled Arsenal's advantage at the half hour mark as his low effort found the bottom corner after being sent clear by Vieira following a swift counter.

A fine first-half for Arteta's side was crowned by Vieira. The Portuguese midfielder curled an unstoppable left-footed shot into the top corner following a free-flowing move to give the Gunners a three-goal lead at the break.

Marquinhos was introduced by Arteta as a half-time substitute for Vieira. The Brazilian was denied his own stunning goal by Lopes, with the Lyon goalkeeper turning his curling effort onto the crossbar.

Arteta made nine further substitutions in the second half, with Catalin Cirjan becoming the third Arsenal player to strike the woodwork in the contest.

After Arsenal's youngsters cruised to the end of the 90 minutes, they then claimed a bonus point by winning 2-1 on penalties.

Marquinhos and Matt Smith scored with Arsenal's opening efforts of the shootout, before Cirjan saw an attempted Panenka comfortably saved.

Amorio Cozier-Duberry was also denied before Reuell Walters blazed over when presented with the chance to win the shootout. 

The worst penalty was saved until last as Rayan Cherki's Panenka was caught by Hein, with the Estonian making his fourth save.

The result gives Arsenal four points at the start of the friendly competition, which also features Liverpool and AC Milan.

Arsenal will face the Italian champions on Tuesday before flying back to London to continue their preparations for the resumption of the Premier League season. 

Relive Sportsmail's live blog from the mid-World Cup friendly clash between Arsenal and Lyon below.