Every coach will tell you that results are never the priority in pre-season friendlies. That warm-up period is about helping players and the team find their rhythm, fine-tuning tactical patterns, and building a strong physical base for the upcoming season.However, defeats in warm-up games – especially when a club is a firm favourite – can still set off a few alarm bells and serve as a warning. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain were handed one yesterday.The reigning Champions League finalists were humbled by Spanish clubs, losing their friendlies with a combined score of 1-6! And while Arsenal fell short against the former Conference League runners-up, Real Betis 3-1, Paris Saint-Germain were stunned by the recently relegated Mallorca 3-0!Champions League winners PSG and runners-up Arsenal both suffer shock defeats on the same night 💀Mallorca smashed PSG 3-0, while Real Betis battered Arsenal 3-1 ❌ pic.twitter.com/8L7Ia2w2sF— GOAL (@goal) August 6, 2026 Even though Mikel Arteta fielded a quite strong starting XI with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera, Kai Havertz, Christos Tzolis, and Viktor Gyokeres, his side lost the match even before the break, and went into halftime trailing 3-1.Rodrigo Riquelme and Nelson Deossa helped Betis race into a 2-0 lead. The Gunners pulled one back thanks to Hincapie's goal, but Pablo Fornals restored his team's two-goal cushion two minutes before halftime.After the break, Arteta gave a chance to several youngsters and did not seem desperate to avoid defeat at all costs, so the scoreline remained unchanged.On the other hand, many expected PSG to cruise past Mallorca, which had recently been relegated to La Liga 2 after finishing 19th in the previous campaign in the Spanish top flight.Nevertheless, the Pirates capitalised on Luis Enrique's heavily rotated lineup and crushed the Parisians 3-0, thanks to goals from Zito Luvumbo, Jan Virgili, and Antonio Raillo.The 56-year-old tactician handed opportunities to youngsters, such as Dro Fernandez, Ibrahim Mbaye, Senny Mayulu, Quentin Ndjantou, and others, with Khvicha Kvatatskhelia, Lucas Beraldo, Illia Zabarnyi, and Matvey Safonov being the only experienced players in the starting XI.A 10-1 humiliation or just a joint training session? Bournemouth and Genoa tell different storiesAfter the break, Enrique subbed on Lucas Chevalier and Willian Pacho, along with several other prospects, which wasn't enough even for a consolation goal.Neither defeat is likely to trigger panic at the Emirates Stadium and Parc des Princes, but could serve as a wake-up call for Arsenal and PSG. The new season is just around the corner, and once the competitive action begins, every defeat will carry a far heavier price.##NAJAVA_MECA_9878469##
59