Stephy Mavididi scored the winner as an Arsenal XI beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The England Under-17 striker capitalised on a defensive error after five minutes to maintain the Gunners’ unbeaten record in pre-season ahead of Friday’s game against Boreham Wood.
Arsenal named a young side, with former Bristol goalkeeper Matt Macey the most experienced figure in the line-up.
New signing Jeff Reine-Adelaide started while Vlad Dragomir was named on the bench. Kaylen Hinds returned from injury to feature in an exciting front line alongside Mavididi and Tyrell Robinson.
Rovers were the brighter side in the opening moments, Danny Greenslade curling just over the crossbar from a short corner, but their early work was undone when Mavididi scored into an empty net.
Robinson was next to threaten, crashing a powerful drive at goalkeeper Lee Mansell following a slick passing move. Reine-Adelaide then skipped onto a through-ball but Robinson could not reach the Frenchman’s cross.
Arsenal held their shape well in the final moments and restricted the hosts to just one chance, but Jake Gosling curled a shot the wrong side of the post from 25 yards.
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