Mikel Arteta has said he has seen "something different" from striker Gabriel Jesus since last season, as the Brazilian impressed against Bayer Leverkusen.
Jesus, who scored four goals in 27 Premier League appearances last term, was on target with a fine finish against the Bundesliga champions on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old failed to score in his last 10 league appearances after returning from a knee injury, with Kai Havertz starring in the number nine position in his absence.
However, Arteta has been impressed with Jesus' displays in pre-season, but has set his striker a challenge of becoming more consistent this year.
"I said from day one, the first feeling when I saw him after talking to him at the end of the season is that he was something different," Arteta said.
"I could sense it. His energy was different, the way he looks is different, the way he’s moving is different. He really wants it.
"Now it’s about finding that consistency and doing it in any context, against any opponent, against any formation, any day, every three days, for 90 minutes, for 30 minutes, for 70 minutes.
"If you produce in those circumstances? It looks good."
The encounter against Xabi Alonso's side saw the return of both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka into the first-team fold after their Euro 2024 campaign with England.
But there was no sight of Jurrien Timber and new £42m signing Riccardo Calafiori, with Arteta able to explain their omission from the squad.
"Jurrien had a little discomfort in his foot in the last few days and obviously, after the amount of time he’s been out, we didn’t want to take any risks with him," Arteta said.
"In regard to Riccardo, so much happened to him in one week! He’s come into a new environment with a different methodology and different training, so we are managing him, and we want to do it slowly and in the best way possible.
"Hopefully he will be available to play some minutes on Sunday."
Arsenal conclude their pre-season preparations against Lyon this weekend ahead of their Premier League opener against Wolves at the Emirates six days later.
Inter 0-2 Al Ittihad: Diaby double downs Nerazzurri
Moussa Diaby scored twice to help Al Ittihad secure a 2-0 victory over Inter at the U-Power Stadium on Wednesday.
Diaby struck either side of half-time to ensure the triumph over the Serie A champions, and now has three goals in his first four games since his move from Aston Villa.
The defeat is Inter's first of pre-season, with Simone Inzaghi's side concluding their preparations for the new season against Chelsea this weekend.
Having been second-best in the opening exchanges, Al Ittihad took the lead in the 25th minute when Diaby was picked out by Houssem Aouar before firing the ball beyond
Yann Sommer.
Despite Inter registering seven shots to their opponents' four in the first half, they found themselves further behind two minutes into the second half.
A loose pass by Alessandro Bastoni was punished as Ahmed Al Ghamdi saw his effort saved by Sommer, only for the rebound to fall kindly for Diaby to score his second.
Milan improved in the forward areas but were unable to test Predrag Rajkovic as Laurent Blanc's side held on for the win in Italy.
Data Debrief: Diaby does the business
After scoring six times in the Premier League for Aston Villa in 38 appearances, Diaby has already scored half of that total in his first four games for Al Ittihad.
The Frenchman was in top form against Inter, registering the most shots (three) and shots on target (two), with his expected goals (xG) total of 0.24 only bettered by Benzema (0.55).
Arsenal continued their preparations for the new Premier League season with a convincing 4-1 triumph over Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus gave the Gunners a comfortable advantage at half-time, with Kai Havertz adding a fourth in the second half.
Substitute Adam Hlozek would take the shine off an otherwise impressive performance from Mikel Arteta's side late on, but Arsenal were worthy winners at the Emirates.
A frantic start to proceedings saw Zinchenko give the hosts the lead in the eighth minute as he rifled home Havertz's cutback from the edge of the area.
Matej Kovar was picking the ball out of his net again less than a minute later, as Leverkusen were caught playing out from the back with Trossard remaining composed to slot home.
Another mistake from the Bundesliga champions was punished seven minutes before half-time, this time by Jesus, who saw his long-range effort evade the grasp of Kovar.
The result was put beyond doubt just after the hour mark when the returning Bukayo Saka saw his cross deflect kindly into the path of Havertz for an easy finish.
Xabi Alonso's side showed a glimpse of the football that saw them win 28 of their 34 league games last year, with Hlozek rounding off a fine move with a delicate chip over David Raya.
Arsenal face Lyon in their final pre-season fixture on Sunday before starting their quest for that elusive Premier League title against Wolves six days later.
Data Debrief: Gunners turn on the style
Arsenal impressed in their penultimate pre-season fixture against a strong Leverkusen side, with promising signs to show they can go one better this season.
Arteta's side out-performed their expected goals (xG) by 2.6, with six of their nine shots on target, registering double the amount of touches in the box when compared to their opponents.
Trossard was a particular standout for the Gunners, recording the most touches in the opposition box (seven) while also making the most passes in the final third (19), a total only bettered by Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka (24) and Edmond Tapsoba (21).
Earps targets a 'few more trophies' at PSG after Man Utd exit
Mary Earps says she hopes to add "a few more trophies to the cabinet" with Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Manchester United.
The goalkeeper was at United for five years, helping them to lift their first-ever FA Cup in May.
However, they failed to challenge for the Women's Super League title last season, finishing fifth, 20 points behind winners Chelsea.
Earps' biggest successes have come in an England shirt, with their European Championship victory in 2022, while she was also awarded the Golden Glove at the 2023 World Cup, in which the Lionesses reached the final.
She joined PSG as a free agent in July, signing a two-year deal with the club, who finished as runners-up in the Premiere League last season and are set to play for a sixth-straight season in the Women's Champions League.
Earps admitted that while it was a difficult decision to leave Manchester, she is hungry for even more success.
"I cannot wait. I'm so excited to get going," Earps told the Tooney & Russo show.
"It was a tough decision to make because I was there [at United] for so long and I have great relationships with people, so you don't just pick your life up and move on a whim.
"But equally, the opportunity to play for a great team in top competitions, being in a position to win silverware, I've been fortunate enough to have a really good few years and win a few trophies, and it's just a feeling that's hard to explain because people think she's won some silverware, she's done.
"But it's like an itch you can never scratch enough. I'm looking forward to doing that and hopefully adding a few trophies to the cabinet."
Earps started all 22 of United's WSL matches last season, keeping seven clean sheets and making 60 saves.
She was one of three players to leave the Red Devils on a free transfer at the end of last season, with captain Katie Zelem and forward Lucia Garcia also leaving the club.
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