Arsenal lost 3-1 to Real Betis in Dublin, but the scoreline only tells part of the story. Arsenal conceded three times in the first half, and the delayed kick-off at the Aviva Stadium lasted 15 minutes because Real Betis were stuck in traffic. The bigger issue for Mikel Arteta was how quickly his back line was opened up once the game got going.

Arsenal's first-half collapse

Arsenal had 56% possession and still managed only 2 shots on target, while Real Betis had 7. That split is hard to ignore when the game turns on defensive mistakes rather than control of the ball. Pablo Fornals set up both Rodrigo Riquelme and Nelson Deossa before scoring himself, and Arsenal were punished each time they allowed Betis to move cleanly through them.

There is a fair point to be made about personnel, because one source said William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were absent for the first half, while others did not frame the issue that way. Even so, Arsenal still looked slow to react, and that matters more in a pre-season friendly than the result itself. Arsenal's defence was a major reason they finished first in the Premier League last season, won 26 of 38 league games and conceded just 27 goals. This was a messy reset against a strong opponent, not a season verdict.

Betis were sharp, Arsenal were not

Real Betis finished fifth in La Liga last season, and they played like a side comfortable taking advantage of space. Manuel Pellegrini's team were direct, efficient and far more decisive in the final third than Arsenal. The first-half pattern was enough to leave a clear warning for Arteta, especially with Kai Havertz, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Piero Hincapié and Mikel among the names available to be discussed around the squad.

The lesson is not that Arsenal's defence is suddenly broken. It is that against a well-drilled side like Betis, loose spacing and slow recoveries were exposed quickly, and that is the part Arteta will want fixed before the season starts.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →