Baturina stunner and Raya heroics hand Arsenal shoot-out win as Fabregas returns to the Emirates

Cesc Fabregas returned to his old stomping ground on Wednesday, but it was Arsenal who came away smiling after beating his Como side 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in a pre-season friendly at Emirates Stadium.

Martin Baturina produced a sublime strike to peg back the Premier League champions after Myles Lewis-Skelly had given Arsenal a deserved first-half lead, forcing the match to a shoot-out that the Gunners edged thanks to a crucial David Raya save.

Gunners nearly run riot early

Arsenal raced out of the blocks, and their renowned set-piece prowess very nearly produced 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 saw Gabriel Jesus fire at an open goal, but from a tight angle the Brazilian struck the post.

Como did not escape another defensive error in the 33rd minute. Goalkeeper Jean Butez cleared straight at Lewis-Skelly, whose header was cushioned back by Gabriel Martinelli, with the youngster applying a composed finish to break the deadlock.

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

Guimaraes debut and late drama

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 period. 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 victorious, with Raya making a crucial save after Noni Madueke's miss, setting the stage for Christos Tzolis to slam in the winning spot-kick.

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 reported £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.

What's next

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.