Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth (5-4 pens): Gunners need spot-kicks to win Los Angeles friendly

Arsenal needed penalties to overcome Bournemouth following a 1-1 draw in the first match of their pre-season tour of the United States.

Fabio Vieira’s volley put Mikel Arteta’s unfamiliar XI ahead after 18 minutes at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Portuguese powering Reiss Nelson’s cross into the far corner.

Karl Hein denied Dominic Solanke one-on-one but Bournemouth would level 17 minutes from time, Antoine Semenyo’s shot deflecting off Omar Rekik to wrong-foot the young Arsenal goalkeeper.

Both teams had agreed to a shoot-out should the game finish all square, and it was Ryan Christie’s miss that proved decisive as Arsenal stayed perfect from 12 yards.

Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho, Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior all converted from the spot for the Gunners, who are next in action against Manchester United at the SoFi Stadium on Saturday.

Data Debrief: Wasteful Cherries beaten

Facing a young Arsenal XI, Bournemouth could perhaps have made more of their chances as they finished with 1.33 expected goals (xG) to their opponents’ 0.51.

Solanke, who scored 19 Premier League goals last season, failed to score – or even hit the target – from a game-high four shots totalling 0.54 xG.

90 minutes in the tank and a shoot-out win in California pic.twitter.com/YhgfURggoJ

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 25, 2024