Martin Baturina's sublime strike saw Como fight back to draw 1-1 with Arsenal in a pre-season friendly, though the Gunners then won a penalty shoot-out 4-3.

Cesc Fabregas returned to his old club on Wednesday, as Como - last season's surprise package in Serie A - took on the Premier League champions at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal raced out of the blocks, and their set-piece prowess very nearly resulted in an early opener, only for Piero Hincapie to inadvertently clear Gabriel Magalhaes' header off the line.

Less than a minute later, a mix-up in the Como defence resulted in Gabriel Jesus firing at an open goal, but from a tight angle, the Brazilian hit the post.

Yet Como did not get away with another error at the back in the 33rd minute. Goalkeeper Jean Butez cleared straight at Myles Lewis-Skelly, whose header was cushioned back by Gabriel Martinelli, with the youngster applying a composed finish.

Arsenal's lead lasted just 10 minutes, however, as Baturina brilliantly got the better of two defenders before lashing home.

Bruno Guimaraes came on for his Arsenal debut at half-time, before Fabio Vieira and Cristhian Mosquera both saw efforts saved early in the second half.

David Raya, back in the fold as a half-time substitute following Spain's successful World Cup campaign, was called into action twice by Jesus Rodriguez late on, with Kai Havertz having a goal disallowed for offside with the final kick of normal time.

A shoot-out was called on to determine the winner, and the Gunners came out victors, with Raya making a crucial save after Noni Madueke's miss, setting the stage for Christos Tzolis to slam in the winning spot-kick.

Tzolis slams home to win us the shootout!!

Arsenal -
Como 1907 -

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 12, 2026

Lewis-Skelly puts transfer talk to one side

Lewis-Skelly has been the subject of plenty of speculation this week, with rumours suggesting he has been offered to Arsenal's Premier League rivals, Manchester United and Chelsea.

There could be a fear of the youngster dropping down in Mikel Arteta's pecking order in midfield following Arsenal's £75m acquisition of Guimaraes, but Lewis-Skelly's composed finish demonstrated why he should be confident of pushing for a place.

The teenager had the joint-most shots for the Gunners (two), while he completed all 22 of his attempted passes, making him just one of two Arsenal players to register a 100% passing accuracy, along with Madueke.

Arsenal, whose focus will now shift to their Community Shield clash with Manchester City, got the job done in the shoot-out, and Arteta will feel his team were worthy victors, given they generated chances worth 2.42 expected goals (xG), while their steely defence limited Como to a meagre 0.25 xG.