Riccardo Calafiori impresses on his debut, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are charged up for new season, and Mikel Arteta could be ready to give youth a chance... THINGS WE LEARNED from Arsenal's 2-0 win over Lyon

Arsenal rounded off their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 victory against Lyon to win the Emirates Cup. 

Mikel Arteta fielded a strong side and they took an early lead through William Saliba's header after nine minutes. 

The Gunners doubled their lead just before the half hour mark, with Saliba's centre-back partner Gabriel rising high from yet another corner. 

Meanwhile, there was a debut for £42million summer signing Riccardo Calafiori, who came off the bench to replace Oleksandr Zinchenko in the second-half. 

Mail Sport’s Isaan Khan was in place at the Emirates, and here are his main takeaways. 

Warm welcome for Calafiori  

Riccardo Calafiori’s £42million signature was sealed two weeks ago — and today marked his first minutes in an Arsenal shirt.

As the 22-year-old stood waiting on the touchline, the Gunners let out a rousing reception for their new man.

The excitement was further boosted by the fact he is the north London club’s only summer signing thus far.

The Italian had a solid start, coming on in the 64th minute. He had the bit between his teeth, closing the ground on his opposition with will and running hard to get back in defensive position.

The crowd noise to any of his passes and tackles also had an effect on him.

Calafiori was eager to get on the ball, motioning to his team-mates when free on the left flank. There were a few drives upfield and an almighty sprint back on the break which did enough to put off a Lyon attacker, aided by David Raya’s save.

It’s early days but for a 26-minute run out, the signs looked promising.

Rice and Saka ready to go 

Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were, of course, central to Arsenal’s title ambitions last season. They made their first starts of this pre-season — and gave a glimpse of their higher gears.

In the 4-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, the pair came on as substitutes. Saka looked the more sharp then, but nevertheless there was still more levels to go before the new season.

That was shown this afternoon. Saka immediately posed left back Abner problems, weaving him inside and out, and causing much trouble as he darted towards the box.

His threat to the Lyon backline shone and started the impetus for Arsenal to break the lines early on.

Rice, who was getting to grips with returning to full match preparation last time out, showed a real step up and signs he is ready.

His passing was crisp, he made constant attempts to advance play and put in some good tackles, too.

And then to top it off, two of his well-executed corner-kicks — which were right on the money – resulted in goals.

The uplift in levels were expected, but still welcomed.

Set-piece kings  

There was one table in particular the Gunners finished top of. Not the league — but on set-pieces. The north London club scored 20 in the 2023-24 season, which was more than any other Premier League team.

They had scored none on their US pre-season tour but broke their duck today with two against Lyon, courtesy of Declan Rice corner-kicks.

The first goal, scored by William Saliba, looked particularly from the playbook of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. Most of the Arsenal players in the area started on the back-post, before advancing towards the front-post, aside from Saliba who strayed to the centre of goal.

The Frenchman got a towering header on the ball to send it into the net. Gabriel secured the second goal, charging in from the edge of the area to powerfully head goalwards.

Mikel Arteta will have been aware how important set-piece goals have been for him and his team — and is hoping to ensure the same rings true again.

Will Mikel Arteta give youth players chances? 

After a US pre-season tour in which academy stars were given time on the pitch, Arsenal reverted back to type.

Their most promising youngsters Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ayden Heaven and Josh Nichols made the bench. The former two got a run out on 78 minutes.

Saka was substituted at that point. It felt wise to take him off him before the end, owing to the sheer amount of minutes he will play in the coming months.

It was a promising sign to see Arteta give these academy players a chance to come on at the Emirates. It wasn’t quite the same as starting them or substituting one or two on at half-time, though nevertheless a slight change in tune.

As seen in the last campaign, the Spaniard barely used his youngsters — even in dead-rubber matches.

By playing some of them here, it gives hope to them that there is a pathway to the first team.

It’s important as players will leave, just like Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters have to Brighton and Luton Town respectively.

A reminder of this was on the tannoy. The announcer introduced the return of Ainsley Maitland-Niles who plays for Lyon.

The stadium announcer mentioned how Maitland-Niles joined the Arsenal academy aged six and made his first-team debut at 17.

It goes to show how one avenue can lead to another.

Pre-season comes to a close

Arsenal's pre-season matches have now finished, and their campaign begins next Saturday against Wolves.

In choosing opposition such as Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen, they have had the correct preparation.

Though the results of such games bare little relevance to the grand scheme of things, it is this period where much can be drilled, learned and calculated.

There can be a temptation to play against weaker sides. Arsenal have done the opposite.

The Gunners, as a result, should hit the ground running in the Premier League once again. It’s an unforgiving competition which does not allow time to settle.

The north London club have also used a wide range of players and experimented with positions, too.

For example, Kai Havertz was used in left midfield against Liverpool in Philadelphia. Today the German was played as a false nine.

He played a sublime pass through the pitch after 30 minutes to send Gabriel Martinelli racing to the goal, falling in the box under pressure from a defender.

Overall, it’s all shaping up rather nicely for the Gunners.