Viktor Gyokeres, the Swedish international striker signed on Saturday from Sporting Lisbon, was introduced to the crowd of more than 38,700 before kickoff. He watched from the bench as his new club won an entertaining encounter in the Singapore heat.

The 27-year-old could make his debut when Arsenal take on Tottenham in Hong Kong next Thursday in another friendly. "We are increasing the quality of the squad all the time, so we're super happy to have Viktor with us," said manager Mikel Arteta.

"It has been a long journey to get him here." Newcastle, who were missing striker Alexander Isak as he considers his future, scored with their first attack in the sixth minute. New signing Anthony Elanga blasted the ball into the bottom corner after meeting a cross from Sandro Tonali.

But Arsenal overcame a shaky start, regaining their rhythm and control of the game. Mikel Merino levelled in the 33rd minute from Kai Havertz's flick. Arsenal were ahead two minutes later when defender Alex Murphy fumbled the ball into his own net.

The Magpies almost conceded a third after the restart but had keeper Nick Pope to thank after he stopped a bicycle kick by Bukayo Saka. Against the run of play, substitute Jacob Murphy levelled for Newcastle a minute later after his shot from outside the box sneaked past David Raya.

With the match seemingly headed for a draw, it was 15-year-old Max Dowman's deep run into the box, where he was clipped by Joelinton, that proved to be the game-changer. Odegaard made no mistake from the spot to give Arsenal their second win in Singapore following a 1-0 victory over AC Milan.

"Playing against Newcastle today wasn't just a friendly. It was a real test," said Arteta. "It gave us the chance to raise our competitiveness and physical level. There are still things we need to work on, like how we compete, understand our positions and show the willingness to win."

Alex Murphy

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