New Signing Tzolis Gets Assist As Arsenal Thrash MK Dons In First Pre-Season Game

Arsenal new signing Christos Tzolis marked his first appearance with an assist, as the Gunners kicked off pre-season with a 3-0 win against League One (third division) club MK Dons 3-0, in a behind-closed-doors contest at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Saturday.

Reiss Nelson and Ethan Nwaneri gave Arsenal an 2-0 lead going into halftime while Ceadach O’Neill got the third goal in the second half.

Arsenal almost took the lead within 60 seconds with Tzolis, immediately involved in the action, feeding Reiss Nelson inside the box, but his effort was well blocked by MK Dons stopper Craig MacGillivray.

The Greek winger continued to cause trouble down the left, linking up well with left-back Riccardo Calafiori to create the opening goal.

The duo played the ball around the MK Dons defence before Tzolis found Nelson once more and this time, the Englishman made no mistake, smashing into the bottom corner after 10 minutes.

Arsenal doubled their lead on 39 minutes through Nwaneri, after a well-worked corner found its way to him on the edge of the box, which he curled into the bottom corner.

Also Read: Arsenal Exploring Sensational Move To Sign Real Madrid Star Forward

The Premier League champions’ second half side took on a more youthful feel, with Mikel Arteta making eight changes to the first half side. Only Kepa, Marli Salmon and Louie Copley, filling in at right back, remained at the start of the second half.

And their first big chance of the second half resulted in the third goal of the contest, after a fine chipped ball over the top found O’Neill, who latched onto the pass and rifled into the near post.

The young Arsenal side almost added to the scoresheet with a flurry of late chances. First, Ismeal Kabia laid the ball off to striker Evan Mooney, who thumped a powerful effort off the underside of the bar with the goalkeeper beaten.

James Agberebi

James is a sport content creator and also does analysis on sports. Also, James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men and women national teams. Facebook : James Agberebi