LONDON: Arsenal were naive in their defending and paid a painful price, manager Mikel Arteta said after his side’s 3-2 friendly defeat against Villarreal left them with back-to-back pre-season losses.

Arsenal, who started their preparations for the new season with victories over AC Milan and Newcastle United before losing to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, found themselves trailing 2-0 inside 33 minutes against Spanish side Villarreal at the Emirates on Wednesday.

“Today I think the result is painful. I think they were super efficient but we’ve been naive, especially the way we have defended in open spaces and that’s something that, especially the way we play, we have to absolutely nail,” Arteta told reporters. “Today we haven’t been good at all in that department and that has cost us the game for sure.”

Arteta, however, was pleased with what he saw from striker Viktor Gyokeres, who completed his 63.5 million euros ($74.14 million) switch from Sporting last month, after handing the 27-year-old Swede his first start in an Arsenal shirt.

“I think it was very important for him to start a match and start to have the feeling and the connection with the team,” Arteta said.

“He’s been with us only a week or so, but I really saw a lot of things and a lot of purpose, especially the way he was attacking certain spaces.”

Arteta also heaped praise on highly rated 15-year-old attacking midfielder Max Dowman, who won a penalty for Arsenal.

“He continues to impress, without a doubt. The impact he had in the game again today, the efficiency that he shows in every attack and action, it’s incredible,” the Spaniard added.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2025