Arsenal half-time player ratings: Bukayo Saka and Ben White shine, Fabio Vieira struggles vs Nurnberg

Arsenal are taking on German side Nurnberg in their opening pre-season friendly ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Mikel Arteta will be desperate to get off to a positive start as he looks to build on the success of last season.

Arsenal led the Premier League for much of the campaign before eventually being pipped to the title by Manchester City.

The Gunners have been busy in the transfer market as they attempt to bridge the gap to City, with Kai Havertz already joining from Chelsea and Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber expected to complete their moves from West Ham and Ajax in the coming days.

Havertz could only make the bench for their opening warm-up game as Arteta named a strong starting line-up in Germany.

Aaron Ramsdale started in goal behind a back four of Ben White, Gabriel, William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior.

Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira and Leandro Trossard were named in midfield, with Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah starting the match in attack.

Here are the half-time player ratings for Arsenal.

Aaron Ramsdale – 5

Had very little to do against limited opposition. Did everything that was asked of him in a quiet half.

Ben White - 8

Arguably Arsenal’s best player of the half. Solid in defence and provided plenty going forward. Set up Saka for Arsenal's opening goal and managed to link up with his England teammate on several other occasions.

Gabriel - 6

Had very little to do defensively but looked solid in an unfamiliar role on the left side of defence, with Kiwior stepping up into midfield.

William Saliba - 6

Looked solid on his return from injury but had very little to do.

Jakub Kiwior – 6

Played virtually the whole half in midfield after being trusted with the 'Zinchenko' inverted full-back role. Saw the ball more than any other player. A few wayward passes but a promising performance.

Thomas Partey – 6

Kept things moving in midfield and looked comfortable on the ball, but no stand-out moments.

Fabio Vieira - 4

Struggled to make an impact on the first half after coming into the team in place of Martin Odegaard, who picked up a knock in the warm-up. Misplaced several passes including knocking a dangerous free-kick directly out of play.

Leandro Trossard – 6

Looked comfortable in midfield and was able to set up several attacks with forward balls. His versatility could be important for Arsenal this season.

Bukayo Saka - 8

Arsenal’s most dangerous player. It only took him six minutes to score with a fierce shot. Could have had a first-half hat-trick, with two other shots well saved by the Nurnberg goalkeeper.

Reiss Nelson - 6

Some nice touches in and around the box. Set up Nketiah for a chance early on in the game but faded as the half wore on.

Eddie Nketiah – 5

Started up front over Gabriel Jesus and Folarin Balogun and would have wanted to have a bigger impact. Only had one half-chance early on which he was unable to take advantage of.