Arsenal narrowly avoided a second successive pre-season defeat on Scottish soil as they came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Scottish champions Rangers on Saturday afternoon.
Steven Gerrard's men went ahead twice through headers from Leon Balogun and Cedric Itten, but debutant Nuno Tavares and Eddie Nketiah struck either side of the break to salvage a draw for the Gunners.
The result comes after Mikel Arteta witnessed his side fall short in a 2-1 defeat to Hibernian, meaning that the wait for a pre-season win continues for the Gunners ahead of their trip to the United States for the Florida Cup.
Here, Sports Mole examines three major talking points from Arsenal's stalemate at Ibrox.
Set-piece misery
© Reuters
Arsenal's rearguard was certainly not lacking in height in front of a spaced-out Rangers crowd, as 6ft Calum Chambers and 6ft 3in Pablo Mari lined up in front of Arthur Okonkwo - handed another start despite his nervy showing at Hibs.
However, the Gunners were undone by two corners against Gerrard's side, as Balogun managed to wrestle free of Mohamed Elneny's clutches to head home in the first half, while Hector Bellerin failed to do enough to stop Itten putting Rangers in the ascendancy in the second 45.
Assuming that recent reports are to be believed, the arrival of Ben White cannot come soon enough for Arsenal fans, who will also be desperate to welcome another imposing figure in Gabriel Magalhaes back from injury as soon as possible.
Three of the four goals that Arsenal have shipped in pre-season so far have come from corners - a worrying statistic as Arteta seeks to beef up his defence - although the return of an established backline when the new season kicks off ought to help iron out those defensive deficiencies.
Tavares's dream debut
© Reuters
As expected, recent arrival Nuno Tavares was trusted from the first whistle against Rangers after completing his move from Benfica, and the left-back could hardly have wished for a better start to life in North London red.
While most of the Gunners' attacking play in the first half came from the right-hand side, Tavares was on hand to capitalise on an error from Rangers captain James Tavernier and fire a right-footed effort past Allan McGregor with 23 minutes on the clock.
During his first interview as a Gunner, Tavares revealed that he had a penchant for shooting with his right foot, and it took the Portugal Under-21 international less than half an hour to prove it during an assured cameo at Ibrox.
Tavares was only given a 45-minute run-out on Saturday as first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney returned to hostile grounds for the second half, but the ex-Benfica man will certainly give Arteta food for thought if he can replicate today's showing in further friendlies.
Not Aubameyang's day
© Reuters
Numerous off-the-pitch factors contributed to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's underwhelming 2020-21 season, and the 32-year-old is under pressure to prove that he is still the same goalscoring machine that initially put pen to paper with Arsenal in 2018.
However, Aubameyang's ruthless side was not on show at Ibrox, as the former Borussia Dortmund man missed three gilt-edged chances in a frustrating 60 minutes before being withdrawn for Nketiah, who was able to make the net ripple.
Aubameyang initially blasted a good chance over the bar after a mistake from Rangers goalkeeper McGregor before totally misjudging an attempt at a header, although he has never been renowned for his aerial prowess, despite his 6ft 2in frame.
The Gabon international then proceeded to miss a chance that was arguably far easier to score, as the ball found its way to him at the far post before a tame side-footed effort struck Calvin Bassey's leg when he had the whole goal to aim at.
With Nketiah taking his goal with aplomb, Folarin Balogun expecting more first-team opportunities and Alexandre Lacazette proving his worth by constantly bringing others into the game, Aubameyang's place in the team will undoubtedly be in jeopardy with more performances of that nature.
Ben Knapton
