Just under three months since that special night in May, Arsenal returned to the Emirates turf as Premier League champions to host Borussia Dortmund.

Those who were present for the 3-2 home defeat were treated to the sight of new signing, Bruno Guimaraes being presented on the pitch to a chorus of ‘Bruno!’ ahead of kick-off.

Dortmund took a two-goal lead courtesy of Samuele Inacio and Konstantino Karetsas, before Ethan Nwaneri pulled one back for Arsenal. Joane Gadou restored their two-goal lead before Viktor Gyokeres added another from the spot.

Here are the thoughts of Art de Roché from the Emirates Stadium.

Bruno Guimaraes was unveiled before kick-off (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

What will Odegaard’s role be this season?

Midfield is one of the most interesting areas of the Arsenal squad this season. With the addition of Guimaraes, the options at Arteta’s disposal offer different qualities at an elite level.

Off the back of his on-pitch presentation, the qualities of Guimaraes that Arteta is looking to exploit are: “Versatility to play in two different positions in relation to what we want or the opponent does. (He) has tremendous timing and intuition to win the ball back and progress plays very fast. He’s comfortable putting people through, moving between the lines, moving in behind. And then he’s a goal threat. He’s got a smell and a really good timing to get in the box. And he has the capacity to finish the actions.”

The Brazil international possessing such a varied skillset can allow this Arsenal midfield to function in so many different ways.

Add to that the sharpness of the returning club captain, Martin Odegaard, and how these players are set up and function together is a mouth-watering prospect.

Odegaard played 30 minutes, which has become customary for returning players this pre-season, but impressed nevertheless. At a time when Arsenal were not free-flowing, he was the one player threading passes in behind the Dortmund defence for Kai Havertz, Gyokeres and Dowman to chase.

(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Secure in possession when necessary, the 28-year-old looked like the Odegaard who lit up the World Cup with Norway. His role in this season’s Arsenal midfield was always going to be of particular interest. Would he be used as a No 10, combining with Eberechi Eze like in the run-in, or would he return to a deeper, all-action role that got more out of him at the World Cup.

More game-time with returning players and new arrivals will be needed to truly assess that, but Arsenal’s captain looks in good shape.

What threat does Tzolis offer out wide?

On an afternoon that had the true feeling of pre-season, Arsenal’s wingers were the ones to provide much-needed impetus at critical moments.

Max Dowman and Christos Tzolis have been Arteta’s starting wingers throughout pre-season and could well be when Arsenal play against Manchester City in the Community Shield next week.

Dowman was the first to show flashes of inspiration, with intelligent touches and quick bursts in behind Maximillian Beier changing the picture of Arsenal’s attack within seconds. The 16-year-old created an opening for Viktor Gyokeres to hit the crossbar early on and won a free kick inches outside the penalty area in moments that most resembled a player ‘playing free’.

Tzolis grew into the game, and Arsenal will be thankful he did. After a lull in the first half, it was his tracking back and dribbling into the Dortmund box that lifted the spirits around the ground.

The Greek international’s willingness to A: take on his man and B: always look to either shoot or cross has stood out throughout pre-season and did so again this afternoon. At 2-0 down, it was his drive into the box and low left-footed cross that found Nwaneri to half the deficit. He then won the penalty that was scored by Gyokeres before making way later in the second half.

While Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are set to return from their holidays next week, if they are not deemed ready to start in Arsenal’s opening fixtures, this pairing may be where their threat comes from.

Will returning players help iron out sloppy spells?

Arsenal have ambled through this pre-season at times.

They started strongly with a 4-1 win away to Girona, but their losses against Real Betis and Dortmund have been riddled with strange errors that are typical of pre-season matches.

This will partly be down to the number of regulars who are yet to return to action, with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga not covering himself in glory while David Raya has been away. In a way, these moments have begged the question of whether Kepa would be best served as Arsenal’s No 2 over Illan Meslier or not.

There is an argument Meslier could challenge Kepa for the No 2 spot (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Outfield players have also been punished for a lack of urgency and awareness against opponents who look sharper.

That is why Arteta felt focus cannot solely go on the defensive actions that led to goals. “I wouldn’t just isolate it there,” Arteta said. “We conceded some poor goals the other day, some poor goals today. In the way we competed, especially. But that’s a very collective responsibility. So, we need to improve with the players that we have. And we want to improve for sure.”

Whether it is getting caught waiting for a ball rather than meeting it, or failing to anticipate pressure from an opponent, there are aspects of Arsenal’s last two performances that need ironing out.

Arteta will finally have a complete squad from Monday, August 10, however, so those improvements should be noticeable when Cesc Fabregas’ Como visit the Emirates on Wednesday, August 12.

For a few hours on Sunday, social media lit up with rumours and speculation that Seamus Coleman had found himself a new club.

Not on the football pitch but with his local Gaelic football side, Killybegs.

The 37-year-old left Everton at the end of the last season, bringing a 17-year tenure with the Premier League club to a close.

Republic of Ireland captain Coleman has been without a club since, despite featuring in June’s international friendlies, but it was rumoured he would make a sensational return to Gaelic football.

The Donegal Senior Football Championship started on Saturday, and Killybegs travelled to Four Masters in their opener on Sunday afternoon.

While Coleman did not line out for his hometown club – despite the rumours – it is understood he has been training with Killybegs GAC to keep his fitness up as he looks for a new football club.