Rodrigo Riquelme, Nelson Deossa and Pablo Fornals struck before half-time as Real Betis beat Arsenal in a friendly to condemn the Gunners to their first defeat of pre-season at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Wednesday.
Viktor Gyokeres had a shot cleared off the line for the Premier League side before Riquelme lashed in with nine minutes played following goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s calamitous attempt to gather a corner.
Nelson Deossa…what a hit! 😱😱
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 5, 2026
Real Betis double their lead over Arsenal with a stunning strike and Mikel Arteta doesn't look happy 🌴 pic.twitter.com/4J5QnjOury
Midfielder Deossa scored the pick of the goals from distance 17 minutes later and Piero Hincapie headed in for Arsenal in the 32nd minute, only for Fornals to finish coolly from outside the box two minutes before the break, having been gifted possession by the Premier League side.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta’s forgettable evening was compounded when midfielder Louie Copley had to be helped off shortly after the 19-year-old had come on as a second-half substitute.
Normal service is resumed with a Gunners goal from the corner 👏
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 5, 2026
Piero Hincapié gives the @Arsenal fans reason to celebrate! 🔴 pic.twitter.com/b7h979i0Gv
Arsenal vs Real Betis: Pellegrini prevails
Under former West Ham, Manchester City and Real Madrid head coach Manuel Pellegrini, Betis qualified for the Champions League for the second time in their history by finishing fifth in La Liga last season.
Los Verdiblancos showed why and could have scored more, with Arteta frequently cutting a disgruntled figure in his technical area.
“It’s fascinating just watching the Arsenal midfield,” former Ireland international Damien Delaney observed early in the contest, telling Premier Sports that Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori were acting as attacking number 10s, with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly at the base of the group.
"It's so so easy!" 🎙️
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 5, 2026
The former West Ham man Pablo Fornals puts Real Betis 3-1 up against Arsenal 🌴🔨 pic.twitter.com/iyBeyS1nHd
“You’ve got four in that central area against Betis’ three. [You could] see Havertz there, demanding that ball.
“It’s really, really tough to play against when you get that overload in the middle of the park.”
Arsenal vs Betis: Mikel Arteta ‘abandoned’ plan
Delaney noted that Arteta appeared to be speaking to Calafiori after Betis’ second goal and suggested the defender may have been asked to drop back.
“That’s when he abandoned the set-up,” explained Delaney. “He’ll be concerned with how easily Betis got at Arsenal.”
The ex-Premier League defender called Deossa’s spectacular goal “as pure a strike as you’re likely to see”.
“Kepa had absolutely no chance,” he added. “Arsenal brought the first goal on themselves but there’s not a whole lot you can do about a strike like that.”
Real Betis strike first at the Aviva! 🌴
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 5, 2026
Riquelme takes advantage of poor Arsenal defending at the corner to open the scoring 👀 pic.twitter.com/1ubVDayElP
Arsenal team vs Real Betis
Arsenal were unchanged from their 4-1 win at Girona the previous Saturday.
Full-back Jurrien Timber remained out with a groin problem and defender Hincapie and forwards Gyokeres and Havertz started again, among their players to have featured at the World Cup 2026.
Brazil pair Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli had trained, with the forward on the bench after not being part of the matchday squad against Girona.
Arsenal starting XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz, Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman, Christos Tzolis, Viktor Gyokeres
Arsenal substitutes: llan Meslier, Khari Ranson, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Martinelli Reiss Nelson, Demiane Agustien, Brayden Clarke, Louie Copley, Andre Harriman-Annous, Ife Ibrahim, Theo Julienne, Ismael Kabia, Josh Ogunnaike, Ceadach O’Neill
Betis full line up vs Arsenal
Winger Pablo Garcia was the only Betis player to keep his place from their 1-0 win over Almeria four days earlier.
Among their new signings, Facundo Bernal featured in midfield and Fran Garcia was at left-back.
Real Betis starting XI: Alvaro Valles, Hector Bellerin, Marc Bartra, Natan, Fran Garcia, Francisco Bernal, Gnangoro, Pablo Fornals, Pablo Garcia, Rodrigo Riquelme, Nelson Deossa
Betis substitutes: Guilherme Fernandes Yan, Diego Gonzalez, Diego Llorente, Antony, Sergio Gomez, Ismael Alarcon, Junior Firpo, Pablo Morant, Marcos Rica, Angel Ortiz
When does Arsenal’s 2026/27 Premier League season start?
Arsenal face Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on August 16 at 15:00 BST (10:00 ET / 07:00 PT).
Arteta’s team host the first match of the Premier League season against promoted visitors. Here are the key details.
| Date | Opponents | BST start time | ET | PT | UK TV channel |
| Fri, Aug 21 | Coventry City (H) | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | Sky Sports |
Arsenal vs Real Betis stats
- While Arsenal won the English title last season, Betis sealed Champions League qualification with the help of a run of one defeat in their final nine league matches, that loss coming against champions Barcelona
- They met an English side in the opening game of their Europa League campaign, drawing 2-2 at home to Nottingham Forest
- That was part of a six-match unbeaten start in Europe, their Europa League season ending with a 5-3 aggregate defeat to Braga in the quarter-finals
- Betis have won one of their nine competitive meetings with English sides (D2 L7), beating Chelsea 1-0 at home in the Champions League group stage in November 2005
- Since then, Betis have drawn 0-0 at Liverpool in the Champions League, lost 4-1 away and 1-0 at home to Manchester United in the Europa League and been beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in the 2024/25 Conference League final
- Arsenal took on two Spanish sides in pre-season in 2025/26, losing to Villarreal after normal time and in a subsequent penalty shootout at the Emirates Stadium before reversing their fortunes in both instances against Athletic Club at home three days later
- They were unbeaten in four competitive meetings with Spanish clubs last season, defeating Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid during the Champions League group stage before drawing away to Atleti and beating them at home in the semi-finals
- Having lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest in May, Arsenal have failed to win six of their last 10 games away from the Emirates Stadium, including friendlies (W4 L4 D2)
- This was Arsenal’s first pre-season trip to Ireland since August 2018, when they drew 1-1 with Chelsea before winning on penalties
- The Gunners won 4-2 at Irish side Dundalk during the Europa League group stage in 2020, scoring through Joe Willock, Folarin Balogun, Eddie Nketiah and Mo Elneny
You Should Also Read
