A Bit More Like It..

Well first sorry for not reviewing the first match of the season but tbh I highly doubt anyone cared.

Crystal Palace 1 Arsenal 2

Ward 28′             Giroud 16′, Delaney OG 55′

This game was perhaps far more like what gunners fans were expecting at the start of this season. We played some nice stuff and there were a couple of particularly impressive performances from both Ozil and Cazorla.

Arsenal started brightly and created a coupe of opportunities to score before the breakthrough came. most notably a quick break away involving Ozil and Sanchez. A nice through ball from Ozil set Sanchez clean through into the box but he cut back instead of shooting and his shot was blocked and his rebound attempt was blocked off the line. The much maligned Olivier Giroud did though get the breakthrough. A cross from the left by Ozil was good but just behind Giroud, the big Frenchman did excellently to reach back and scissor kick into the bottom left corner of the goal. A brilliant finish to open the scoring. Arsenal then dominated the game for 10 minutes after the goal and Sanchez again missed another good chance close in on goal.

But then the sucker punch came. Crystal Palace scored with their first shot on target. It was though an excellent strike. Hit firm and accurately by Joel Ward right into the bottom right corner of Cech’s goal. No real mistake made other then not clearing the ball earlier in the move. Arsenal we’re level when really the game should have been out of sight. There was brief period were Palace came forward but the Gunners soon took control again. Coquelin was booked a few minutes from half time and was lucky not to sent off when he committed another foul a few minutes later and appeared to be walking a tight rope at half time.

Wenger made no changes at the break though and left Coquelin on. Palace almost went ahead just after the break when Wickham hit the post from a cross from the right whilst left free in the box. It was Arsenal who grabbed the next goal though. Bellerin stood a nice cross up to the back post which Sanchez produced a massive leap to get on the end of. His powerful downward header hit Delaney and the ball went into the roof of the net.

The joy though was very nearly short lived as Coquelin makes a bit of a clumsy challenge on McCarthy and a foul is given. Even Coquelin thinks he off but luckily the ref decides a final warning is in order and Wenger finally takes him off.

Arsenal dominated for most of the rest of the game and apart from a nervy last few moments didn’t really look too much like conceding a 2nd. The Ox could have made it 3 with the last touch of the game but hit hos shot straight at the keeper.

Overall a much better performance from the Gunners if still a bit rusty. Definately some work needed on the finishing and perhaps our lack of DM cover exposed. Ozil was the undoubted highlight. With 98% pass accuracy, 5 chances created, 1 assist and couple of sublime bits of skill he was very impressive. Cech again looked a bit shaky on a few crosses but generally was solid. Nothing he could do to stop the goal.

A good warm up for next weeks game against Liverpool a definate improvement from last week. Still plenty to work on though, and perhaps a nudge to Wenger to push to get a couple more players in before the end of the transfer window.

Walcott’s Central Role

With only 12 months left on Walcott’s current contract Wenger is understandably anxious to tie him into a new one. On Sunday he said that Theo is close to signing, but no agreement has been reached yet. So is this uncertainty delaying Arsenals attempts to sign a new striker?

With Theo not yet having signed a new contract Wenger may be thinking that bringing in another big name striker may not help the situation. Walcott is desperate to show what he can do in a central role, and the arrival of someone like Benzema would surely see his chances in that role limited further. Wenger has said many time that he does not want to lose a player that he believes is entering the prime of his career. So he will probably wait till he gets his signature before doing anything to upset the apple cart.

Theo is a clever guy though and he knows another striker coming in is a strong possibility. He therefore may be waiting till after the window has shut to sign a new contract and see who or if anyone comes in.

I don’t think Wenger will wait that long though if he can bring in another world class striker ie Benzema. Llorente has been strongly linked but he will not improve the squad, and I get the feeling this is just an agent angling for a move rather than real interest. Wenger tends not to sign many players whom are already over 30.

Whatever happens I don’t think we’re likely to see much happening till closer till deadline day. If Benzema is to come Real need a replacement and that has not happened yet. If Walcott signs and Madrid get a new striker then maybe just maybe…

2 Games, 1 Cup

After two games and two victories in a little over 24hrs Arsenal lift the Emirates Cup for the first time since 2010. Not a major trophy to start bragging about, but a continuation of what has been an impressive preseason so far.

Yesterdays 1-0 victory over Bundesliga runners up Wolfsburg may have been as impressive a spectacle as Saturday’s destruction of Lyon, but it did demonstrate the squad depth Arsenal have. With only Ozil the only player to start both games Arsenal fielded two pretty strong teams. Especially when you consider that Ospina, Rosicky, Welbeck and Sanchez are yet to return to the squad.

Arsenal Line up V Wolfsburg: Cech, Chambers, Bellerin, Monreal, Gabriel, Ozil (Akpom, 46), Cazorla, Wilshere (Hayden, 76), Reine-Adelaide (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 64), Arteta (Ramsey, 63), Walcott (Giroud, 75).

The team that played Wolfsburg was probably the team many would see as our reserve players in general. Though they certainly had a much sterner test than Lyon presented on Saturday. The first half was a fairly even affair played at a relatively slow pace. a pretty typical friendly match. Arsenal had the better chances though and perhaps should have been leading before the break. Theo had a couple of opportunities, playing as a central striker, with the best seeing him clear through but the ball got caught under his feet and he was tackled before he could shoot. He made up for it after the break with a neat finish poking past Benaglio for what was the winning goal.  A good finish from Walcott but it was the man with assist who really caught the eye yesterday, Jeff Rene-Adelaide.

A 17 year old attacking midfielder who Wenger has already described as a ‘special talent’ certainly looked at home on the Emirates pitch. A debut for the young lad that was reminiscent of the way a young Patrick Vieira made his debut. A player who took complete control of the game and ran it. I’m not saying he’s as good as Vieira only time will tell us that, but his wirery frame and powerful style will soon draw comparisons if he continues to perform like this. He also has more of a trick and a turn than Vieira and less destructive. Though he was playing in a wide position on the right and he may do more if played centrally as Wenger has suggested he might. He certainly won the ball back well a few times yesterday. What he seems brilliant at though is carrying the ball forward. He beat Wolfsburg players several times during the match with flicks,drag backs, turns and just shear power moving the ball forward from midfield into the final third.  This is what he did for the goal, picking the ball up 10 yards into Wolfsburgs half and driving forward and then playing a lovely through ball straight into Theo’s path. Arsene says he’s staying with us this year and not being loaned out. I doubt he’ll feature much for the first team but i’m sure all Gunners can’t wait to see him play again.

Reine-Adelaide grabbed the headlines but he wasn’t the only player with a good performance yesterday. Theo missed a few but got in good positions, a couple of better touches and he may have scored a couple more.  Cech made his home debut and made a couple of good saves in the second half. Every touch he made was cheered by the Emirates crowd, a signal of the level of quality the Arsenal faithful know we have signed. Jack was excellent, he showed great feet and carried the ball well, as is his forte. He played several cracking passes too and looked fit and sharp for the new season. I was also impressed by Gabriel and Chambers at the back. One of these two will need to step up and take over from Mertesacker this season who is starting to look a little bit of a liability with his lack of pace. I would think that Gabriel would be the one to do this with his added experience but Chambers looked much more at home in the centre of defence than he did last season. The Ox came on for half an hour at the end and impressed again with some great direct and powerful running.

With no injuries, unearthing 2 more young gems and a morale boosting victory, I think this years Emirates Cup can be regarded a very successful one for the Gunners.  I wouldn’t get too carried away yet Chelsea will be a much tougher test on Sunday and will be a better barometer for the season ahead.

If we do beat Chelsea next Sunday it may be more than one more Community Shield in the bag. Arsene has never managed to beat a team managed by Mourinho and breaking this hoodoo could be a real psychological boost at the start of the season.

This morning Szczesny announced that he would be joining Roma on loan this season. Good luck to you Wojciech hopefully you can come back to us a better player. i think this is a great move for Arsenal. Szczesny has a lot of promise and has performed well for us in the past but too often he has dipped and made silly mistakes. A year or two in Serie A could help iron out these issues and give Arsenal a replacement for Cech when he retires. If not he’s been in the shop window helping us get a better price.

Lots of reports that Walcott is close to signing a new 4 year deal. If this is true then I think this will be great for him and the club. i firmly believe that he has all the attributes to be an excellent player for Arsenal if he can stay fit. I he can get a whole season under his belt he will be a great player.

Still no firm news on any signings for Arsenal. Hopefully we can do something before the window closes. I think we still need a world class striker and holding midfielder to finish out our squad. There is no point though buying unless they are world class or they won’t improve our squad.

The Lyons Are Tamed

Not a bad little run out for the Gunners eh?

If you didn’t see it Arsenal ran out easy winners in this afternoon match against Lyon in the Emirates Cup winning 6-0. The goals came from:

1. Giroud 29′
2. Oxlade-Chamberlain 34′
3. Iwobi 35′
4. Ramsey 38′
5. Ozil 62′
6. Cazorla 84

There are clips of all 6 on my twitter page @theweaponscache, Ramsey’s and Iwobi’s goals are the pick of the bunch.

1. Arsenal: Martinez, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Iwobi, Giroud
3.  Lyon: Lopes, Zeffane, Rose, Umtiti, Jenssen, Gonalons, Ferri, Tolisso, Grenier, Njie, Lacazette

Arsenal were in control for the entire match against a pretty lackluster Lyon side. We kept possession well and won the ball back quickly. I liked the way we seemed to be hunting for the ball in packs of 3. It’s a similar tactic to what Barca have used and worked well for them. This was also in evidence in the match against Everton last week. When the Lyon did make it past our high press Coquelin did an impressive job mopping up behind.

Lyon did have a few chances themselves though and perhaps should have scored at least once, but for some poor finishing. What little they did create came through rumoured Arsenal target Lacazette. He was certainly Lyon’s best player but that wasn’t hard. This is the first time I’ve watched him play so hard to make a full judgement, but on this display there was nothing there to suggest he would improve us much.

As bad as Lyon may have been a lot of credit still has to go to the arsenal players for making them look that bad. Ozil and Ramsey stood out in particular and seemed to have developed a good understanding. This was particullary evident in Ramsey’s goal which was assisted by a magnificent pass from Ozil. Iwobi was also a big positive from this match. Arsene has always looked to develop players from our youth system and Iwobi looks like another gem. His performances this preseason remind me of when Jack Wilshire broke through at the Emirates Cup. He looks a typical Arsenal player, quick, clever and technically gifted. Certainly far from the finished product, I think we’ll see him loaned out this season, but next season we may see him break into the team.

Overall this was a perfect preseason game, a good fitness boosting run out, confidence boosting scoreline and no injuries. If there was one small negative in the game Giroud missed a few chances and looked a bit rusty, but this is preseason so hopefully he can get back to form over the next couple of weeks.

Next up tomorrow is Wolfsburg at 4.20pm again. Lets hope for more of the same from the other half of the squad. Follow the twitter feed @theweaponscache for live updates during tomorrows game.

England

Today the draw for the qualifying groups of the 2018 World Cup in Russia was made. Here is Englands Group:

Group F

1. England
2. Slovakia
3. Scotland
4. Slovenia
5. Lithuania
6. Malta

The stand out games are obviously against the ‘Old Enemy’ Scotland. They and the Slovakians will probably provide the sternest test for us. Though in truth this is a very favourable draw for England and we should cruise though to the finals. But again this is England so never rule anything out.