Arsenal started their pre-season tour of Asia with a win over AC Milan after 90 minutes, followed by defeat in a penalty shoot-out.
Pre-season is a time to prepare for bigger challenges ahead, with the action in Singapore giving Mikel Arteta plenty of pointers.
The Gunners dominated the game but only had one goal to show for their efforts, as Bukayo Saka found the net.
One of the talking points from the game was Arsenal’s debutants, as well as the inclusion of 15-year-old duo Marli Salmon and Max Dowman.
There’s a lot of excitement about Dowman after his remarkable season in the academy, but Salmon shouldn’t be overlooked by any means.
Mikel Merino spotted reassuring Marli Salmon
Arsenal are aware of Salmon’s potential, with the centre-back playing beyond his years alongside Dowman.
Arteta has already shown huge trust in the defender by including him in the Arsenal first team’s pre-season plans.
66 minutes into the match against AC Milan, Salmon replaced William Saliba, a change that subsequently signed him up to take place in the penalty shoot-out.
Unfortunately, Salmon missed from the spot at the sudden-death stages, following on from the misses of Martin Odegaard, Reiss Nelson and Jakub Kiwior.
What happened after the youngster missed his penalty was heartwarming, as Mikel Merino was spotted walking straight over to Salmon to reassure him.
Other members of the squad followed, as the 15-year-old held his head high after an impressive cameo during the match.
Pre-season is a time for learning, and for Salmon’s test against Milan, the good certainly outweighed the bad.
Merino’s leadership qualities on show
It won’t go down as a painful penalty miss for Salmon, who merely missed the chance to score in a meaningless pre-season shoot-out after Arsenal had won the game.
Still, Merino saw the need to approach the teenager to check in with him, which is a fantastic showing of leadership from the Spaniard.
The midfielder’s actions won’t come as a surprise to Arteta, who already knows that Merino is a ‘natural leader’.
“More and more will come because he’s a natural leader as well, as he grows in the role. I think we’ll see much more from him,” Arteta said of Merino after Arsenal’s win over Brentford in January.
Salmon can be proud of his performance, as can Merino, who ensured the Hale End star felt the togetherness within the first team.
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