Kai Havertz makes his debut: All actions from Arsenal’s 1-1 friendly draw against Nurnberg

Arsenal were back in action for the first time since the end of the season and entertained a 1-1 draw as they travelled to Germany to face Bundesliga 2 side Nurnberg.

Kai Havertz made his highly-anticipated debut in his homeland after completing his £65million move from Chelsea and was finally back playing in midfield.

William Saliba finally returned from injury from what will have felt like an eternity to Arsenal supporters who agonizingly watched their star defender sit in the stands during the end-of-season run-in.

While, Bukayo Saka was on the scoresheet once again as Mikel Arteta sought to blow the holiday cobwebs off ahead of a pre-season tour of America.

Mail Sport runs you through the biggest talking points from Arsenal’s first pre-season friendly.

Arteta starts strong

Pre-season friendlies and especially the first match of the warm-up campaign are usually fraught with a host of young talents seeking to catch the manager’s attention, but Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta showed no signs of possessing such a thought process.

The Gunners started with a host of first-team regulars on show with four of the players that started in the decisive 4-1 defeat against Man City in April given starting berths in Germany.

Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, Thomas Partey, and Ben White were all picked by Arteta as he attempted to get a view on his side’s fitness levels following their summer breaks.

Just 46 days separate Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Wolverhampton on the final day of the Premier League season and Thursday’s pre-season curtain-raiser, and although there was ring-rust, Arsenal’s stars looked keen to get on with things.

Saliba makes a solid return

The Frenchman that boasts great aerial dominance and exceptional defensive capabilities shows his skillset is built for Premier League football. Unfortunately his body perhaps wasn’t during the end-of-season run-in as his absence through a back injury coincided with Arsenal’s slip-up in the title race.

There were several attempts to get Saliba back in the team during the tail-end of last season, all unsuccessful as the decision was eventually taken that he would play no further part until pre-season.

That appears to have been the correct decision with the 22-year-old slotting into centre-back against Nurnberg and Arsenal looking solid in defence, albeit against a second-tier German opponent.

Saliba showed he hasn’t lost his turn off pace, displaying his solid covering abilities to ward off opposition attacks and similarly looked back at ease in his partnership with Gabriel.

Arsenal need Saliba to be fully fit for the majority of next season and the early signs are a strong indicator that the decision to not rush his recovery was the correct one.

Partey will challenge Declan Rice

For all the hype surrounding Declan Rice’s imminent arrival at the Emirates you could be forgiven for thinking he is already an Arsenal player. He’s not and Thomas Partey showed he won’t be replaced easily.

When the West Ham captain’s triple-digit arrival is eventually confirmed, he will slot into midfield and all but certainly take the defensive slot occupied by Partey, but the former Atletico Madrid man isn’t going to lie down and roll over.

Partey was one of Arsenal’s most important figures during their rise and maintaining of position at the top of the Premier League table for over 90 per cent of last season and again showed his class during the first-half against Nurnberg by breaking up play and kick-starting attacks.

There is no guarantee that Rice will be the world class star that swathes of Arsenal supporters eswear he will be and Partey’s pre-season determination is a statement of intent to Arteta.

If he does leave then the Gunners will be losing one of their best midfielders and likely on the cheap.

Havertz finally gets back in midfield

Is Kai Havertz a midfielder? Yes. Although Chelsea supporters may have forgotten that after he was used as their central striker last season. A position that the Germany international clearly didn’t enjoy.

His first Arsenal appearance came in the second-half against Nurnberg and it was evident that Arteta has no plans to use Havertz as a striker, instead deploying the midfielder in support of Gabriel Jesus.

Havertz linked up well with his fellow midfielders, at times being given permission to drift into wide areas but on the whole staying central and acting as one of the main creators.

The difficult decision will be who does he play alongside when the Premier League season gets underway? Odegaard and Rice – if he joins – will be guaranteed starters and that leaves Havertz competing with a host of others for the third spot.

Thrived is too strong an appraisal of his Gunners debut, Havertz created space and showed glimpses of his quality, but perhaps above average is a more accurate representation. He will need time to adjust to new surroundings and Arteta will give him that.

Balogun does enough to show he should stay

Arsenal’s attack will almost certainly see a striker depart during the ongoing summer transfer window. Gabriel Jesus is staying and that leaves the exit door open for one of Eddie Nketiah or Folarin Balogun.

The latter starred for Stade Reims last season and in Germany on Thursday looked like he could be one of the youngsters to watch in the Premier League next season.

Balogun was introduced in the second-half as Arteta rang the changes, and if this was a scouting call to other potential suitors then there will be plenty of them.

His pace was frightening as Nurnberg defenders frequently found out with relentless runs in behind, while his unselfishness to set up other players in better positions is a rare attribute amongst strikers, but a valuable one that Arteta should be keen to exploit.

A first senior Arsenal goal should have been added to his record after cutting back and watching his shot rattle the post, while an even better chance followed at the end of the match where he took the ball round the keeper but smashed his effort into the side-netting.

Nketiah hasn’t taken his chance to be Arsenal’s main striker, but Balogun should be given a similar opportunity and looks ready to pounce.

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