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Gabriel Martinelli (right) of Arsenal and Sam Raben of Colorado Rapids in action during their international friendly on Monday. France Media Agency
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli scored in his Arsenal debut on Monday, as the English Premier League kicked off his pre-season tour of the United States with a 3-0 win in the Colorado Rapids friendly.
Bukayo Saka and James Olayinka also scored for the Gunners, who won at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the suburbs of Denver.
Martinelli, the 18-year-old striker and signed from Itano on July 2, received a surprise start in attack by Unai Emery and sent an opportunity to first base.
Saka, 17, was an energetic presence and allowed Arsenal to climb 1-0 in the 13th minute as he recovered the pbad ball to Eddie Nketiah.
Another teenager – Olayinka, 18 – doubled the score to 29th, grabbing a lost pbad from the defense and taking advantage in the upper left corner of the net.
Martinelli, who had missed his chance, finished the scoring at the 61st goal scoring a close center.
The Rapids, in the middle of the Major League Soccer season, have formed a reserve consisting mainly of several players from the lower Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
Arsenal have also set up a reserve team as they begin their preparations for the Premier League season after failing once again to secure a spot in the Champions League.
The tour did not start without controversy. Captain Laurent Koscielny refused to travel to the United States and a group of influential organizations, such as supporters of Arsenal, issued a statement Monday in which he denounced a "pbadive property" of Stan Kroenke .
Under a hashtag "WeCareDo You," the statement decried a "soulless" atmosphere at Emirates Stadium in Arsenal and a lack of transfer strategy.
Kroenke, who began investing in the club in 2007 through his company Kroenke Sports Enterprises and took over full ownership in 2018, also owns the Los Angeles Rapids and Rams in the NFL.
Meanwhile, Emery said that he was awaiting the decision of Laurent Koscielny after the captain refused to travel with the team for their pre-season tour to the US, but added that the club Premier League had to "keep going" despite everything.
The 33-year-old French back has a contract of less than a year. He was linked by the British media with the move to Girondins Bordeaux and Olympique Lyonnais, Ligue 1 clubs.
"I talked to him three times about his situation. We wanted him to come with us, but he decided to stay, "Emery said at a press conference after Arsenal's 3-0 Colorado Rapids defeat.
"For me now, it's clear. We must continue to move forward. We play with the spirit to create a new way. "
Emery said Koscielny, who joined Arsenal after the French club Lorient in 2010 and played more than 350 appearances, was still an "important player".
"It's now a problem for him and the club," said the manager. "They need to talk and talk about his situation … I'm waiting for his conversation and his decision … I can not say more than that."
Arsenal will face Bayern Munich on Wednesday, before the matches against Fiorentina and Real Madrid in the framework of the International Champions Cup.
Emery's team, who finished fifth in the league last season, begins their new campaign at Newcastle United on August 11th.
Agencies
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