Arsenal kicked off their pre-season in dismal fashion on Tuesday evening, as Scottish Premiership side Hibernian claimed a 2-1 win in front of a jubilant Easter Road crowd.
Martin Boyle and Daniel MacKay both breached the Gunners' defence before Emile Smith Rowe made things interesting with a strike of his own in the 82nd minute, but Hibs held on to claim a memorable, albeit inconsequential win over Mikel Arteta's side.
A healthy blend of youth and experience took to the field at Easter Road in yellow, and while some will certainly point to the fact that it is only a pre-season game, some of the same old issues were evident for Arsenal.
Here, Sports Mole looks at three talking points from Arsenal's opening defeat of the pre-season period.
Okonkwo's nervy debut
Teenage goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo - who recently penned a new long-term contract in the capital - is a player who Arteta clearly rates very highly, and Arteta opted to give him his first taste of senior Arsenal action from the first whistle at Easter Road.
However, the 19-year-old truly had a debut to forget for the North London side, as an early flapped attempt at a catch from a cross preceded one of the easiest goals that Boyle would score in his career.
What should have been a simple clearance from a backpass instead led to Okonkwo swiping at thin air, and Boyle took advantage by prodding home to put Hibs into the ascendancy, where they would stay for the full 90 minutes.
Any teenager making their debut for Arsenal - competitive or not - would undoubtedly be battling with nerves before kickoff, and Okonkwo will certainly retain the faith of Arteta, but it was hardly the ideal start for the shot-stopper's senior career before he was hooked for Karl Hein at half time.
Persistent profligacy
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Chance after chance after chance, the Gunners just could not put the ball in the back of the net. A familiar theme that Gooners have been forced to witness throughout the past 12 months, even with experienced pros in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian featuring from the off.
Eddie Nketiah was trusted to lead the line and spurned a magnificent opportunity to put his side ahead, winning the ball back in a promising area and enjoying a clean run through on goal before side-footing his effort wide of the mark.
After an evening of stop-start penalties being saved in the Euro 2020 final, Nicolas Pepe's stutter from 12 yards did not pay off as his effort was saved by Maciej Dabrowski, and the Ivorian - alongside Thomas Partey - struck the woodwork from a free kick as Hibs held firm.
Alexandre Lacazette's hold up play and strength was on show for all to see, but there was no way through for the Frenchman either, and it was not until the 82nd minute that Arsenal's pressure paid off as Smith Rowe met Hector Bellerin's cross to power home.
Plenty of names in the final third will be hoping to stake their claims for regular starting roles in pre-season, but there was very little joy for most of the Gunners' attacking contingent, even if most of them were only given 45-minute run-outs.
No Joe
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Arteta is expected to oversee a major squad overhaul this summer as he bids to turn Arsenal into a top-four competing club once more, and today gave Gooners a closer look at which men may or may not be in the Spaniard's thinking for the 2021-22 season.
Lacazette, Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac - returning from his loan spell at Schalke 04 - were all given minutes despite being strongly linked with exits, while Granit Xhaka was also nowhere to be seen, but his absence was Euro 2020-related amid rumours of a move to Roma.
One particularly notable absentee from the Arsenal lineup was Joe Willock, who was not even named in the matchday squad let alone the first XI at Easter Road, and Arteta's decision coincidentally came on the same evening that reports emerged of talks with Newcastle United over another loan deal.
Willock is still thought to be in Arteta's long-term thinking, and one would not expect anything less after netting eight goals in 14 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, but his absence on Tuesday has certainly given fans more questions than answers over his future.
Ben Knapton
