What happened as Arsenal beat Man Utd in secret friendly with shock free agent in action

Arsenal continued to monitor the fitness of Gabriel Jesus and development of Max Dowman with their participation in a behind-closed-door friendly win over Manchester United

Former Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gabriel Jesus helped the Gunners Under-21s defeat Manchester United in a secret friendly.

According to journalist Nathan Salt, the north Londoners beat United, who were down to 10 men after James Overy's red card, 3-0 on Saturday. Oxlade-Chamberlain was recently spotted training with the Under-21s after returning to the club to work on his fitness.

Oxlade-Chamberlain became a free agent in the summer after his stint at Besiktas came to an end. Before Arsenal's Champions League win over Slavia Praha, the 32-year-old was seen taking part in training with the youth team during the first team's open training session in front of the media.

"If we can help him and give him the space for him to get up to speed and have the capacity to find a club," Mikel Arteta said. "It's a joy, the boys will learn from it. I had the privilege to play with him and if he is around he will be a really good role model to have around the team."

It's also claimed that striker Gabriel Jesus got minutes after returning to the Gunners' matchday squad recently. The Brazilian was named on the bench against Chelsea last weekend and Brentford in midweek, but was excluded in the defeat to Aston Villa.

Jesus has been out of action since he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The striker was forced to undergo surgery and has only recently returned to full training.

"So we took that opportunity for the players that needed a bit of exposure and competition to provide that to them," said Arteta. "It was very positive.

"Obviously, he has been out 11 months and you need that progression. You need to see how his body, that knee reacts and what else does he need.

"The players that we have available as well, it has to make sense to have the right balance in the squad. The good thing is that it is very, very close at the moment."

Highly-rated academy star Max Dowman joined them. Like Jesus, the teenager was left out of the squad at Villa Park to participate in the behind-closed-doors friendly.

The friendly will be deemed a success by Arteta and Arsenal. With a comfortable 3-0 win and minutes for Jesus, Dowman continued to impress by getting himself on the scoresheet. Charles Sagoe Jr, who was in the squad against Slavia Praha back in November, was also among the goals.

Oxlade-Chamberlain's appearance for the club was his first since he left in 2017 for £35million to Liverpool. His involvement in the win over United was his first game for the Gunners since the 4-0 defeat at Anfield in 2017.