Arsenal continued their winning pre-season with a 2-0 victory over Everton in Baltimore on Saturday night and Mikel Arteta is impressed with what he has seen so far.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 16: Bukayo Saka #7 of Arsenal (l) celebrates scoring a first half goal against the Everton during a preseason friendly at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JULY 16: Bukayo Saka #7 of Arsenal (l) celebrates scoring a first half goal against the Everton during a preseason friendly at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Arsenal won the game against Everton in the first half thanks to a quick-fire double from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.

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Jesus was making his first start since signing for Arsenal, netting his third goal, while William Saliba also made his first start since returning from his loan with Marseille.

After the game, Mikel Arteta was asked how useful the match had been in his preparations for the new season. “It was good, two really different halves,” Arteta said.

“I think the first half we were really good, really intense. We understood where the spaces were and the execution was really good. We were a threat all the time, we had a lot of bodies attacking.

“We were really direct, the counter press was top, I really liked that we conceded nothing. The second half we started a bit sloppy. We changed the formation and we had too many giveaways, it didn’t give us control of the match.

“We last 20 minutes we changed again and I think we got control again. Overall the boys have done what they are doing in training. They are training really well, really high intensity in every session and you can see the way they play.”

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 16: Goal keeper Matt Turner of Arsenal applauds the crowd following their 2-0 win over Everton during a preseason friendly at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JULY 16: Goal keeper Matt Turner of Arsenal applauds the crowd following their 2-0 win over Everton during a preseason friendly at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Asked about how Matt Turner has settled, Arteta added, “I’m really happy with him. The way he has settled in, he’s an extraordinary character, a lot of personality and he’s great at what we want.

“Obviously, it was a big moment for him to come in an Arsenal shirt in the States and play in front of the crowd and he did well.”

Arteta was also asked quite a lot about Jesus.

“He looks really sharp, really dynamic,” Arteta said.

“(He’s got) a really good understanding with his team-mates straight away. They are looking for him, he’s generating chances, good connections around specific spaces we want to exploit with him especially, and yeah, we’re really happy.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 16: Gabriel Jesus #9 of Arsenal and Ben Godfrey #22 of Everton go after the ball in the first half during a preseason friendly at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JULY 16: Gabriel Jesus #9 of Arsenal and Ben Godfrey #22 of Everton go after the ball in the first half during a preseason friendly at M&T Bank Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

“He’s very versatile, but obviously, the way we would like to develop him, is in that [number 9] position.

“But not on his own sometimes, but don’t close that door because Gabby [Martinelli] in relation to what the opponent does in certain games we are going to have to use him in different positions. He is open to that and he knows it’s part of his strength as well.”