Rice was placed between Havertz and Odegaard as a sign of the arrival of midfield. and helped complete a 5-0 victory over the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday night.
Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz all scored.
Rice moved from West Ham to Arsenal over the weekend for a UK-record transfer fee. A large crowd of Arsenal supporters roared when he entered the field a little more than an hour after the start of the match, and cheered for his every touch.
US striker Folarin Balogun, whose days at Arsenal could be counted, also joined the London club at the same time as Rice. By that time, Arsenal were leading 3-0.
«I think we were suffocated by the weather … and we couldn't really control the game,» Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “But it's true that today we were exceptional in both boxes. Every time we were in a good position in the last third of the goal, we got the ball in.”
Here are five things that Arsenal fans learned from the first game of the pre-season tour.
Havertz takes over
To be fair, Kai Havertz didn't have the best time in Tuesday's MLS All-Stars Skills Challenge. A new £65m Arsenal contract became the first player to fail to score a cross-and-volleyball goal in the tournament and many lined up to taunt him on social media after that.
However, those same people will be a lot less vocal after Arsenal thrashed the MLS All-Stars 5-0.
With delightful irony Ha Wertz marked his second appearance in Arsenal colors with a beautiful goal, yes, from a cross. The Germany international, who was introduced at half-time, knocked the ball off his chest and then fired a volley to end Arsenal's romp.
After a torrid last season with Chelsea, it will be interesting to see how Havertz fares under Arteta, especially since it is clear that the Arsenal manager has given the 24-year-old a different role to the left of the third midfielder.
Interestingly, Arteta believes that Havertz's versatility will allow him to play multiple roles at Arsenal, but after his struggle for a false nine at Stamford Bridge, a move to midfield, where he originally started for Bayer Leverkusen, may help to better unlock all that potential.
«I again think that is one of the main qualities that he possesses,» Arteta said of Havertz's versatility. «He gives us something different with his qualities and his height, like where he can be a target if we need to beat the press.
«For the time being he plays as an attacking midfielder, but I'm sure he will be used in other positions during the season.»
Arteta believes he can get more from Havertz than Chelsea have ever been able to. Photo: AFP/STEFANI REYNOLDS Rice debut
There was no doubt who received the most cheers that evening. The introduction of Rice in place of Jorginho shortly after the hour mark was enthusiastically received by the Arsenal supporters in the crowd.
The game also provided the first glimpse of what would likely be Arteta's first midfielder next season, with Havertz and Martin Odegaard on either side of the England midfielder.
Wayne Rooney, the former Manchester United and England captain who managed the MLS All-Stars here, has praised Rice and believes the new Arsenal signings will make him stronger next season.
It's not yet known how Rice will handle the price tag, but he was smiling at Audi Field.
Rice (left) knows he will have more testing days in the new Arsenal shirt. Photo: Arsenal FC/Stuart MacFar lane A solid chunk of Timber
Arteta's face quickly turned into a smile at the first mention of Jurrien Timber's second-half initiative play against Rooney's team.
The Dutch defender, who signed from Ajax last week for £34m, 12 months after being claimed by Manchester United, exuded confidence in his debut after being introduced for the final half hour. Serving as an inverted full-back, the Dutchman was comfortable with the ball and wasn't afraid to shout instructions and tell his teammates where he wanted them to be, regularly pointing at winger Marquinhos to show where he expected to be.
«I think you saw it tonight,» Arteta said when asked how important Timber's addition could be. “He is a really versatile player. We can use it on different positions within those positions. He gives you the ability to roll over and take different places.
“In this phase, he is so comfortable with the ball. He also has that aggression in fights and that dynamism that I really like. You saw from his first action, high pressing immediately won the ball, won the duel and was ready to play. He will be a very important player for us.»
Timber made it clear that he would be an active participant in Arsenal's defense. Photo: Arsenal/Stuart MacFarlane Saliba picks up where he left off
There are few events that will delight Arsenal fans as much as the return of William Saliba this summer.
Arteta will never know if Arsenal's season could have turned out any differently if his leading centre-back hadn't suffered a back injury against Sporting Lisbon in March. knocked him out of the final 11 Premier League games with his team.
But the French defender's absence was keenly felt as Arsenal's defenses suddenly started scoring goals and Manchester City took full advantage to secure a third title in a row.
Despite all the hype surrounding new signings — Rice, Havertz and Timber for around £200m — Saliba's recovery from injury may be as big a deal for Arsenal this summer as any.
The MLS All-Stars under Rooney may not have achieved too much, but Saliba's quality still shone six days after the opening match against Nuremberg. The 22-year-old quickly and effortlessly covers the field and reads the game very well, as evidenced by a sloppy interception of two passes and a deft offside in the first period.
Like Saliba, Arteta will be happy to have Takehiro Tomiyasu back. The Japanese defender was initially expected to be out until September due to a knee injury sustained in the same game that took Saliba, but he also returned to play.
More power, more depth
No team in Europe can compete with Manchester City in terms of squad quality and Pep Guardiola has two outstanding talents in each position. But Arteta believes that next season Arsenal will be better prepared to compete both domestically and in Europe.
The first XI might look something like this: Ramsdale; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli. But Arsenal's relative second squad is better than it has looked in a long time: Turner; Tomiyasu, White, Kivior, Tierney; Vieira, Jorginho, Smith Roe; Nelson, Nketiah, Trossard.
When asked if there will be more variety this time around, Arteta said: “We'll see, but the idea is to be more unpredictable every year and make it harder for opponents to stop and nullify what they're doing. I think now, especially in defense and midfield, we have a lot more opportunities than last year.”
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