Mikel Arteta will love what Noni Madueke was doing during Arsenal vs AC Milan friendly

Arsenal ramped up their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 win vs AC Milan in Singapore on Wednesday. Bukayo Saka's second-half strike proved to be the difference between the two sides at the National Stadium.

Mikel Artetanamed a strong starting XI to play Milan, which included new signing Christian Norgaard as well as Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli. The Gunners started off strong and created the better chances in the first half, with Ethan Nwaneri going the closest as his rasping drive was saved by Pietro Terracciano.

Arteta then made several changes at half-time, with the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard coming on and it didn't make a difference to the momentum of the game. Arsenal pushed and pushed to create the opening and they made the breakthrough in the 57th minute as Saka fired home.

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Jakub Kiwior's inch-perfect cross from the left was steered into the corner by Saka. Milan's defenders wanted the linesman to put his flag up for offside, but replays showed that the winger was, in fact, onside.

Four more changes were made by Arteta in the 66th minute, with 15-year-old Max Dowman among those getting their chance from the subs bench. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz lasted the longest as he played the most minutes before he substituted in the 79th minute, with Reiss Nelson taking his spot up front.

Arsenal, in truth, were not threatened throughout the most of the match by Milan, who offered little and had just one shot on target compared to the nine from the Gunners. Although Milan went on to win the penalty shoot-out, it was a positive workout for Arteta's side, especially from the new faces.

However, someone that didn't feature for Arsenal out in Singapore was Noni Madueke. The 23-year-old signed for the Gunners in a £52million move from Chelsea last week but he has been allowed an extended break after he was involved for the Blues at the recent Club World Cup, having played up until the final.

While it may have been tempting for Madueke to relax and spend time recovering, he has instead been working hard in the gym. In an Instagram story posted during Arsenal's pre-season fixture against Milan, Madueke uploaded a video of him in the gym with four others and used four flexed bicep emojis for the caption.

Arteta, at this stage, might not be aware that Madueke was in the gym while the Gunners were in action, but there is no doubt the Spaniard will love the fact he is prepared to put the hard graft in, even when he is off.

Maduekeis expected to join his new teammates when the Gunners return home from their South East Asia tour at the start of next month. Therefore, the first chance to see the England winger in an Arsenal shirt is set to be against Villarreal on Wednesday, August 6 and Athletic Club de Bilbao three days later.

Arsenal kick-start their Premier League campaign with a trip to Manchester United on Sunday, August 17. Arteta's side face the Reds at Old Trafford in their curtain-raiser next month.