Arsenal pre-season report: Who has impressed for the Gunners? What has Mikel Arteta learned ahead of 2025-26 campaign?

Saving the best for last, Arsenal concluded their preparations for the 2025-26 season with a comfortable 3-0 triumph over Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in the Emirates Cup on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners had to be patient for the first-half breakthrough, but like London buses, two goals soon came at once for Mikel Arteta's side, as Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka struck before Kai Havertz put the cherry on top.

Slaying Ernesto Valverde's side was the perfect warm-up for next weekend's blockbuster Premier League opener with Manchester United, and there were notable talking points of the good variety from Saturday's showdown.

Here, Sports Mole looks at what we have learned from Arsenal's 3-0 win over Athletic.

Arsenal 3-0 Athletic: Viktor Gyokeres can head a football

As well as questions surrounding whether he could effectively transition from a counter-attacking team to a possession-heavy side, some of the criticism levelled at Gyokeres was his supposed aerial weaknesses.

The Sweden international did not score a single header in the 2024-25 season for Sporting Lisbon, and he only won 0.59 aerials per game, putting him in the bottom 6% of strikers when compared to those in the top five European leagues.

However, Gyokeres's two golden chances on Saturday came via his head, and one of them ended up in the back of the net, as he expertly steered in Arsenal's first with a delicate flick into the far top corner.

Gyokeres was then inches away from an aerial brace, only for his next attempt to strike the woodwork, but the 27-year-old has surely already silenced some of the doubters.

Arsenal 3-0 Athletic: Martin Zubimendi is the real deal

As expected, the first-choice trio of Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice started in midfield on Saturday, and the former showed exactly why Arsenal paid a little over the odds to bring him to North London.

For those fans who love a good statistic - of Zubimendi's first 30 touches, 25 of them were passes, and the Spain international misplaced just two balls to his teammates all evening long.

Furthermore, five of Zubimendi's six long pass attempts came off, he won four of his five ground duels, and he also converted the spot kick that saw Arsenal win the penalty shootout.

The former Real Sociedad man may still be getting accustomed to his new teammates and new manager's style, but the early signs are extremely promising indeed.

Arsenal 3-0 Athletic: Notable inclusions and absentees

While the players on the pitch stole the spotlight, a word on some of those who failed to make the matchday squad, those who are seemingly edging closer to an Emirates exit.

Reis Nelson and Albert Sambi Lokonga were included in the matchday squad, although neither made it onto the field, while Fabio Vieira and Karl Hein were both omitted from Arteta's selection.

Stuttgart and West Ham United are thought to be in competition for Vieira, who is surplus to requirements in North London, while a permanent sale for Estonian goalkeeper Hein is likely too.