Arsenal’s preparations for the new season continued with an impressive 4-1 victory over German champions Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly at the Emirates Stadium.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz all scored for Mikel Arteta’s side, who dominated Leverkusen in the first half.

Xabi Alonso’s team, who were unbeaten in the Bundesliga last season, had few answers to Arsenal’s attacking incisiveness.

Telegraph Sport takes a look at the key points of interest from Arsenal’s win.

The return of ‘hybrid’ Havertz

Havertz’s debut season at Arsenal can be split into two parts. He spent the first half of it in midfield, where he struggled. He then spent the second half of it in attack, where he excelled.

Such was the contrast between his performances in the two roles, it soon became hard to imagine him ever starting in midfield again (a thought strengthened by Arsenal’s ongoing pursuit of Spain midfielder Mikel Merino).

But here he was, against his former club Leverkusen, once again playing on the left side of Arsenal’s midfield three. The experiment of 2023 appears to have been revived, and it must be said that Havertz was superb in that box-to-box role. Arsenal scored twice in the opening nine minutes and Havertz assisted both of those goals with intelligent passes.

Havertz looked far more comfortable in midfield on Wednesday than he did for much of last season, his first since joining the club from Chelsea. He then moved into a more advanced position after the break, and scored Arsenal’s fourth from close range following good work by the returning Bukayo Saka.

On this evidence, and with Gabriel Jesus looking sharp again, it would not be a surprise if Havertz does indeed return to a midfield position for long spells of the upcoming campaign.

Zinchenko’s statement of intent

Many Arsenal fans saw the arrival of £42 million defender Riccardo Calafiori and assumed that Zinchenko’s time as a key player for Arsenal is effectively over. Calafiori can play left-back, after all, and Zinchenko was inconsistent for much of last season.

Clearly, it is easy to forget how important Zinchenko has been to the development of Arteta’s team since his arrival in the summer of 2022. Following his move from Manchester City, he transformed Arsenal’s shape and offered another layer of technical class in possession.

The first half against Leverkusen was a reminder of that quality, as Zinchenko struck an excellent opening goal from range and proceeded to control the game when tucking into midfield.

With Calafiori not in the squad, this was a chance for Zinchenko to demonstrate his ongoing worth. Wearing the No 17 shirt for the first time (he has switched numbers this summer), he showed he can still have a major impact.

He is perhaps not a player for all occasions – against speedy wingers he can be exposed, and was again here – but that does not mean he will not have a significant role to play in the coming months.

“He knows the things that he needs to improve and he is another player who is very ‘at it,’” said Arteta. “You can see his body language, and you can see that there is something there.”

Calafiori could be handed his debut in Arsenal’s next friendly, against Lyon on Sunday. “He has come into a new environment, a completely different methodology, different training and we are managing him,” said Arteta. “We want to do it slowly, to get him in the best possible way. Hopefully on Sunday he will be available to play some minutes.

Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly continue to impress

Not for the first time this summer, 17-year-olds Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly looked comfortable in the Arsenal side. Both were second-half substitutes, with Nwaneri playing in midfield and Lewis-Skelly at left-back, and both displayed their physical and technical quality.

Are they ready for regular action this season? “If they continue like they are doing right now, it’s not going to make any difference whether they come from the academy or if we signed them from Argentina, Germany or Italy,” said Arteta, who was deep in conversation on the pitch with Lewis-Skelly after the full-time whistle.

“They are showing the qualities that they have. They are especially showing the personality they have to play at this level. Let’s see. We’re not going to put any restrictions, it’s the opposite. If they deserve minutes, they will get minutes.”

What to do with Vieira?

Two years have now passed since Arsenal paid more than £30 million to sign Fabio Vieira from Porto and it is still not entirely clear where he stands in Arteta’s squad. Injury issues did not help his case last season but he struggled to make much of an impact when fit. Across the league campaign, Vieira started only two matches.

On paper, Vieira is the understudy to Martin Odegaard on the right of Arsenal’s midfield three. So far in pre-season, though, he has played as a right winger. Nwaneri has featured in central midfield instead. Is Vieira now the understudy to Saka? It seems that way, although it cannot be said that he has played particularly well in that position.

Against Leverkusen on Wednesday, Vieira offered little attacking threat from that position and once again drifted in and out of the game, before he was substituted at half-time. It is clear he is a player of technical quality but, at the age of 24, he has not come close to justifying his transfer fee. The clock is now ticking – these next few months could be make or break for his Arsenal career.