Arsenal vs. Singapore Select: Lessons Learned from Pre-Season Friendly

Arsenal kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 4-0 win over Singapore Select XI on Wednesday in the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy, with Chuba Akpom striking a hat-trick and Jack Wilshere hitting the target from the penalty spot.

The game was as open and slow-paced as might be expected for the most part, but the entertainment served up saw plenty of shots from the Gunners, and Singapore's highly rated goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud responded in kind.

There is still a long way to go in terms of fitness and form before the season starts, but we can take a few conclusions and pieces of insight from Arsenal's victory nonetheless.

They'll now meet Everton in the final of the tournament.

The Kids Are Alright

Arsenal started with Akpom up front and 19-year-old attacker Alex Iwobi—nephew of Jay-Jay Okocha—on the left wing.

Dita Alangkara/Associated Press

Akpom made a few impressive runs off the ball—although his touch was off at times early on—and his goal put the team ahead, and that would have given him confidence going forward. It was Iwobi, though, who caught the eye with his pace, link-up play and ability to drive forward into the channels, taking on defenders and looking to get shots away.

Of course, we've seen this before with Arsenal and their impressive young wide talents.

Never mind Serge Gnabry and Joel Campbell not reaching their expected potential yet, not even Theo Walcott or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can honestly say they have done as well as could have been hoped for or even guaranteed themselves a starting spot week in, week out in their favoured roles.

The task for Iwobi is to show in pre-season that he can contribute and be relied upon against senior opposition, then continue progressing in training and throughout the coming season when handed the chance.

Against Singapore, he certainly started well enough in that regard.

Akpom also went on to stake his own claim in far more headline-worthy fashion, rolling in a penalty and powering home a header to net a hat-trick.

Saving the Stars?

There was a mixed reception on social media when the team sheets came out, with some fans hoping to see a debut for Petr Cech as well as some of the senior stars such as Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla.

Petr David Josek/Associated Press

Arsenal, though, would always have been expected to beat Singapore.

And with a Premier League team awaiting them in the final, perhaps Arsene Wenger was keen on holding back a few of his side's better players to make the final itself more competitive.

Pre-season or not, he will doubtless want his team to lift the trophy—perhaps even more so now to highlight the gap between Arsenal and Everton, who gave the Gunners so much trouble in reaching UEFA Champions League qualification two seasons ago.

90 Minutes Early on

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

While many Premier League clubs' early pre-season games see managers make wholesale changes to the starting XIs, even using two full teams to play 45 minutes each, the rules of the Asia Trophy tournament meant Arsenal and the other teams could use only six subs apiece.

As such, plenty of first-team players have immediately gotten a 90-minute run-out under their belts, including the likes of Per Mertesacker, Francis Coquelin and Nacho Monreal.

Some of those may not face Everton in the final at all, making way for those with fewer minutes, but it's a good start in difficult conditions for some anyway as they bid to show they are fit and firing to start the 2015-16 campaign in the starting XI.

Follow @karlmatchett