Real Betis spoil Arsenal's visit to Dublin despite Hincapie's header

A sell-out crowd of more than 51,000 packed the Aviva Stadium. It was a far cry from Arsenal's last appearance in Ireland, when Mikel Arteta's side faced Dundalk in the Europa League in December 2020 behind closed doors as the Covid pandemic silenced stadiums across Europe.

Ismeal Kabia during the pre-season friendly match between Arsenal and Real Betis at the Aviva Stadium. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile.

Arsenal 1-3 Real Betis

Pre-season matches are largely for building fitness and player connections after a summer break. The result is irrelevant. Try telling that to 50,000 Arsenal fans, many of whom were seeing their heroes in the flesh for the first time last night. What a let-down.