Arsenal players 'fuming' after sloppy Real Betis defeat

What the report says

Arsenal’s pre-season ended on a sour note in Dublin as Real Betis beat Mikel Arteta’s side after the Gunners allowed three first-half goals in a defensive display the manager described as unusually sloppy. Nile Post reported that Arteta said the players were left “fuming” by the performance, which came despite Arsenal controlling more of the ball early on and creating a few chances of their own.

The match featured several young and rotated players, with Arsenal still missing a number of senior names after international duty, including Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka. On the other side, Betis were more efficient and dangerous throughout, using set pieces and Arsenal mistakes to punish the Premier League side. Rodrigo Riquelme opened the scoring from a corner, Nelson Deossa added a long-range strike, and Pablo Fornals made it 3-0 before half-time.

Arteta made seven changes at the break and used the result to stress that the squad needed the setback as a wake-up call before the new season. The article also noted a minor injury concern for teenager Louie Copley, who had to come off shortly after coming on. The loss matters because Arsenal are trying to build rhythm and defensive sharpness during pre-season, and the defeat exposed issues they will want resolved before competitive fixtures begin.