Arsenal 3-2 Newcastle United: Odegaard penalty decides Singapore friendly

Martin Odegaard's late penalty ensured Arsenal made it two wins from two outings on their pre-season tour of Asia as they beat Newcastle United 3-2 in Singapore.

Mikel Arteta's Gunners beat AC Milan 1-0 on Wednesday, and they stepped up their preparations for 2025-26 by edging an entertaining clash with their Premier League rivals on Sunday.

New £63.5m signing Viktor Gyokeres was presented to the crowd before kick-off after arriving from Sporting CP, but the striker was not involved in Arsenal's squad.

Instead, it was a recent Newcastle arrival, winger Anthony Elanga, who broke the deadlock in the sixth minute. He somewhat miscued his finish from Sandro Tonali's cutback, but the ball looped over David Raya as he dived to his right.

Newcastle were without Alexander Isak, who has missed the tour amid mounting transfer speculation, and the Magpies missed his finishing touch as Raya denied Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.

Great to have you with us, Viktor pic.twitter.com/UTohPE17Ez
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 27, 2025

Arsenal eventually settled and two goals in 100 seconds turned the game around. The first came from Mikel Merino, who recovered possession high up the pitch before finishing from Kai Havertz's backheel.

Leandro Trossard's quick free-kick then released Havertz down the left, and Newcastle youngster Alex Murphy sliced an attempted clearance into his own net.

Newcastle levelled out of nowhere in the 58th minute, as Jacob Murphy's left-footed strike travelled through a crowd of bodies and nestled in the bottom corner.

Fifteen-year-old Max Dowman – a 60th-minute replacement for Bukayo Saka – was involved in the decisive moment for Arsenal. He was clipped by Joelinton after darting into the box, allowing Odegaard to power past Newcastle's substitute goalkeeper John Ruddy from 12 yards in the 86th minute.

Data Debrief: Dowman's bright future

There was plenty for Arsenal fans to get excited about on Sunday, from Gyokeres' pre-match unveiling to appearances for fellow new signings Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga – the latter duo as substitutes.

Dowman's second appearance on this pre-season tour gave them further reason to be upbeat.

As well as winning the decisive penalty, Dowman completed two of three dribbles attempted, won six of eight duels contested and hit the target with both of his shots.