Martin Ødegaard’s 85th-minute penalty gave Arsenal a 3-2 win over Newcastle United in Singapore on a night when new €63 million ($74m) signing Viktor Gyökeres was unveiled shortly before kick-off.
After undergoing a medical in London on Saturday, Gyökeres flew straight to Asia and came out to meet jubilant supporters inside the Singapore National Stadium, many of whom mimicking his “mask” goal celebration as the 27-year-old waved to all corners of the 38,720 crowd.
Gyökeres watched on as his new team maintained their 100% winning record on tour after edging a hard-fought game in humid conditions.
Newcastle made the better start and were ahead inside six minutes. Sandro Tonali made inroads down the right and his cross found Anthony Elanga completely unmarked in the box. Elanga, a £55m signing from Nottingham Forest, scuffed his shot but still found a way past David Raya.
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Arsenal suddenly burst into life just after the half-hour mark. Mikel Merino won the ball from Joe Willock and fed Leandro Trossard who in turn found Kai Havertz in the box. His flick gave Merino the chance to complete a fine move with a low first-time finish.
Two minutes later, they were in front. Trossard whipped in a low cross from the left and Alex Murphy could only thrash the ball into his own net at the back post when attempting to clear.
The Gunners suffered a potential injury scare just before half-time when Riccardo Calafiori was forced off with what appeared to be a fitness issue.
Arsenal replaced Ethan Nwaneri with Martin Ødegaard at the break while Newcastle made nine changes with only Nick Pope and William Osula keeping their places.
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Bukayo Saka had a superb bicycle-kick saved by Pope as Arsenal sought to press home their advantage but it was Newcastle who struck next as Jacob Murphy beat Raya from 20 yards.
Max Dowman made his second appearance of the tour as a second-half substitute and tested Pope with a curling effort before Ødegaard forced him into another save with a long-range strike.
The 15-year-old then produced another telling contribution when his surging run into the box was halted and Ødegaard had the chance to win the game from the penalty spot.
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Kepa Arrizabalaga, on for Raya, made a smart save from Harrispon Ashby as the game went into stoppage-time but the Gunners held on for a win their performance deserved.
Arsenal travel to Hong Kong on Tuesday for the final leg of their preseason tour of Asia, where they will face Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday. Newcastle move on to South Korea to play an all-star K League side.
