Mikel Arteta reacts as Arsenal need penalties to beat Bournemouth in pre-season friendly

Mikel Arteta was delighted with the performance of his young Arsenal side as they beat Bournemouth on penalties in the first leg of their pre-season tour.

With a number of regular starters still gone after international duty, Arteta put his faith in several young players against a strong Bournemouth side.

Fabio Vieira scored midway through the first half but Arsenal were denied by Antoine Semenyo, but the Gunners held on to win on penalties.

“I'm very happy,” Arteta said after the game. “We've got a very different mix today with a lot of young players – a lot of them playing for the first time for us. It's great to see them, just to see their faces and the energy and understanding that they're going to be involved was great.

“And I think the senior players had a good game. It was a really competitive game against Bournemouth as we expected. They are a bit ahead of us in terms of the time they had to prepare for us. A good competitive game, with a lot of things to take forward.

“[The young players] they really impressed us in a positive way. That's the thing. It is not easy to rise to the level and the levels we are at now. It's been a pleasure working with them every day.”

Arteta has expressed frustration at the lack of senior players available to him but backed his starters to hit the ground running when they return.

“It's a different context where we have to adapt and find ways, having little or limited time, to be better,” he pointed out. “This is what we have prepared.

“It's true that they spent another year together, so that chemistry, that relationship just got really strong. I think it's going to click as soon as they get together again.”

Arsenal return to action against Manchester United on Sunday at 01:00 (BST).

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