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 Dublins 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 Arrizabalagas calamitous attempt to gather a corner. 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 Artetas 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. Table of ContentsArsenal vs Real Betis: Pellegrini prevailsArsenal vs Betis: Mikel Arteta abandoned planArsenal team vs Real BetisBetis full line up vs ArsenalWhen does Arsenals 2026/27 Premier League season start?Arsenal vs Real Betis statsArsenal vs Real Betis: Pellegrini prevailsUnder 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.Its 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. Youve got four in that central area against Betis three. [You could] see Havertz there, demanding that ball.Its really, really tough to play against when you get that overload in the middle of the park.Arsenal vs Betis: Mikel Arteta abandoned planDelaney noted that Arteta appeared to be speaking to Calafiori after Betis second goal and suggested the defender may have been asked to drop back.Thats when he abandoned the set-up, explained Delaney. Hell be concerned with how easily Betis got at Arsenal.The ex-Premier League defender called Deossas spectacular goal as pure a strike as youre likely to see.Kepa had absolutely no chance, he added. Arsenal brought the first goal on themselves but theres not a whole lot you can do about a strike like that. Arsenal team vs Real BetisArsenal 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 GyokeresArsenal 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 ONeillBetis full line up vs ArsenalWinger 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 DeossaBetis substitutes: Guilherme Fernandes Yan, Diego Gonzalez, Diego Llorente, Antony, Sergio Gomez, Ismael Alarcon, Junior Firpo, Pablo Morant, Marcos Rica, Angel OrtizWhen does Arsenals 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).Artetas team host the first match of the Premier League season against promoted visitors. Here are the key details.DateOpponentsBST start timeETPTUK TV channelFri, Aug 21Coventry City (H)20:0015:0012:00Sky SportsArsenal vs Real Betis statsWhile 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 BarcelonaThey met an English side in the opening game of their Europa League campaign, drawing 2-2 at home to Nottingham ForestThat 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-finalsBetis 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 2005Since 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 finalArsenal 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 laterThey 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-finalsHaving 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 Arsenals first pre-season trip to Ireland since August 2018, when they drew 1-1 with Chelsea before winning on penaltiesThe 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 Topics Arsenal F.C. Bukayo Saka David Raya Declan Rice English Premier League Gabriel Magalh�es Kepa Arrizabalaga LaLiga Marquinhos Myles Lewis-Skelly Premier League Real Betis Riccardo Calafiori Viktor Gyokeres William Saliba Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Arsenal vs Betis live: Riquelme scores with Kepa atrocious Ben Miller 5th August, 2026 Why Matthias Jaissle could not turn down exceptional Newcastle Jon Fisher 5th August, 2026 Arsenal vs Betis: Confirmed team news and where to watch Ben Miller 5th August, 2026 Real Madrid icon warns Vinicius Junior off Arsenal transfer: Theres no going back it happened to Ozil too Ben Miller 5th August, 2026 Vinicius Junior holds crunch contract talks with Real Madrid after rejecting latest offer Mitch Fretton 5th August, 2026 BREAKING: Arsenal set to sign Guimaraes after fee agreed with Newcastle Jon Fisher 5th August, 2026
