Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Como before winning 4-3 on penalties in a pre-season friendly at the Emirates Stadium. Bruno Guimaraes made his first appearance for the club, and Myles Lewis-Skelly scored amid speculation about his future.
Guimaraes, a £75m signing from Newcastle, was introduced at half-time. Lewis-Skelly had opened the scoring after cutting out a poor pass from Como goalkeeper Jean Butez, but Martin Baturina cancelled out his goal. Lewis-Skelly celebrated by making a heart gesture with his hands.
Guimaraes received a warm welcome with his introduction, but Arsenal could not find a second-half winner. In the post-match penalty shoot-out, Guimaraes and fellow new signing Christos Tzolis were among the scorers.
Mikel Arteta left out Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi despite their returns from World Cup duty this week. However, Eberechi Eze, David Raya, Mikel Merino and Noni Madueke made their first cameos of pre-season.
Arsenal now turn their attention to Sunday's Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley, before their Premier League opener against Coventry on Friday August 21, live on Sky Sports.
The debut of Guimaraes and a goal from Lewis-Skelly took the headlines, but the performance from Marli Salmon provided another talking point. One of two Arsenal 16-year-olds to start the game along with Max Dowman, the defender was outstanding, continuing a strong pre-season.
Salmon lined up at centre-back, with another teenager, the 18-year-old Theo Julienne, as his full-back. As Arteta made sweeping substitutions and the personnel around him changed, Salmon remained calm and consistent, earning a standing ovation when he finally came off in the 88th minute.
Salmon departed having won nine of his 13 duels, the most of any player on either side. He also completed 42 of his 43 passes, a game high. The numbers reflected his confidence and quality both in and out of possession.
Como head coach Cesc Fabregas, a former Arsenal academy prodigy, praised his impact alongside Dowman. "Amazing. That's what it's all about. Hale End does an amazing job," he said. Arteta also offered praise, saying: "I think he was exceptional."
On Guimaraes, Arteta said in his press conference: "He only had three training sessions, but he looked good."
