So the league starts tomorrow, and due to extensive travelling I have not written anything since final game of last season! So here goes, a summer update of results and signings:
This summer's pre-season was, like previous years, staged in Asia. The first game was against Indonesia Dream Team on the 14th of July. We won that game 7-0, with goals from Walcott, Akpom, Giroud, Podolski, Olsson and Eisfeld.
Next up was Vietnam on the 17th, this time the final score was 7-1 in our favour. Giroud scored a hat-trick, Akpom got a brace, while Oxlade-Chamberlain and Miquel were on target as well.
Then we travelled to Japan and played two games there. First up was Nagoya Grampus on the 22nd, which ended 3-1. Giroud was once again on target, along with Miyaichi and Walcott. We beat Urawa Red Diamonds as well, with the final score 2-1. Podolski and Akpom won that game for us.
The Emirates Cup was, as always, played in the beginning of August. This year the cup included Napoli, Galatasaray and Porto. We faced Napoli on the 3rd, which ended in a 2-2 draw, with Giroud and Koscielny on target for us. On the 4th we played Eboue's Galatasaray. To our great disappointment we lost 1-2, Walcott scored a great goal in the first half but as Drogba was introduced things went terribly awry for us. This meant that we finished 3rd in this year's Emirates Cup.
The last game of pre-season was played against Manchester City on the 10th of August in Helsinki. We won that one 3-1, thanks to goals from Walcott, Ramsey and Giroud.
Concerning signings, there isn't much to say. The window closes in September, and so far the only new player we've brought in is Yaya Sanogo. He is a 20-year-old striker from France who looks quite promising.
There is also one player who has left this summer, Gervinho has gone to Roma on a permanent transfer.
This is just a quick update on what has been going on this summer, now it's just to wait for the season to begin tomorrow!
Showing posts with label Pre-Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pre-Season. Show all posts
Friday, August 16, 2013
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
FC Cologne vs. Arsenal
4-0, Pre-season Friendly, Rhein Energie Stadion, 2012-08-12
Vermaelen 5,
Podolski 15 (pen), 43,
Gervinho 62
All of our three new signings played the first half of this game, and they all did really well! Lukas Podolski scored a brace against his former side and Cazorla along with Giroud provided and came close to scoring on several occasions.
Within 5 minutes we took the lead, when Thomas Vermaelen headed the ball into the back of the net from a Cazorla corner. Ten minutes later, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain evaded one tackle in the box, but the second brought him down harshly and penalty was awarded. Lukas Podolski stepped up to take it and converted it, he did not celebrate the goal, though, out of respect for his former team most like. Giroud had tons of chances, but each time the 'keeper got in the way and managed some amazing saves. However, the third goal of the game went to our new German player. Lukas Podolski started the move by passing it out to Gibbs, then he raced into the box to meet Gibbs' cutback, and he finished the move with a powerful strike.
At half-time the entire team changed and Cologne looked for a way back into the game. That was quickly extinguished, though, as Gervinho raced down the left, got past two defenders and scored with a low shot past the 'keeper. A brilliant move that we can only hope to see more of.
After this the game slowed down and in the end it was a comfortable victory. It was great for us to keep a clean sheet right before the start of the season. Our first game will be at home against Sunderland.
Now I'll be off to London and the Emirates for that very game!
Vermaelen 5,
Podolski 15 (pen), 43,
Gervinho 62
All of our three new signings played the first half of this game, and they all did really well! Lukas Podolski scored a brace against his former side and Cazorla along with Giroud provided and came close to scoring on several occasions.
Within 5 minutes we took the lead, when Thomas Vermaelen headed the ball into the back of the net from a Cazorla corner. Ten minutes later, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain evaded one tackle in the box, but the second brought him down harshly and penalty was awarded. Lukas Podolski stepped up to take it and converted it, he did not celebrate the goal, though, out of respect for his former team most like. Giroud had tons of chances, but each time the 'keeper got in the way and managed some amazing saves. However, the third goal of the game went to our new German player. Lukas Podolski started the move by passing it out to Gibbs, then he raced into the box to meet Gibbs' cutback, and he finished the move with a powerful strike.
At half-time the entire team changed and Cologne looked for a way back into the game. That was quickly extinguished, though, as Gervinho raced down the left, got past two defenders and scored with a low shot past the 'keeper. A brilliant move that we can only hope to see more of.
After this the game slowed down and in the end it was a comfortable victory. It was great for us to keep a clean sheet right before the start of the season. Our first game will be at home against Sunderland.
Now I'll be off to London and the Emirates for that very game!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Kitchee FC vs. Arsenal
2-2, Pre-Season Friendly, Hong Kong Stadium, 2012-07-29
Walcott 24,
Eisfeld 77
This was the last game of the Asia Tour of 2012, and it proved to be a difficult one as well.
We had a rather poor first half, and found ourselves 2-1 down, even though Theo Walcott equalized when his shot rolled in by the near post. However, a lot of credit for the goal must go to Abou Diaby. The midfielder won the ball and provided a brilliant pass to the young English winger.
Our defending improved much in the second half, where it had been poor in the first. We enjoyed most of the possession as well, but it took quite a long time before we managed to equalize again. And yet again, most of the credit must go to the provider. Gervinho made an amazing run to the left, and made it rather easy for Thomas Eisfeld to finish the move.
As mentioned above, this was the last game of the Asia Tour, and the team will now be heading back to London to continue the pre-season preparations.
Walcott 24,
Eisfeld 77
This was the last game of the Asia Tour of 2012, and it proved to be a difficult one as well.
We had a rather poor first half, and found ourselves 2-1 down, even though Theo Walcott equalized when his shot rolled in by the near post. However, a lot of credit for the goal must go to Abou Diaby. The midfielder won the ball and provided a brilliant pass to the young English winger.
Our defending improved much in the second half, where it had been poor in the first. We enjoyed most of the possession as well, but it took quite a long time before we managed to equalize again. And yet again, most of the credit must go to the provider. Gervinho made an amazing run to the left, and made it rather easy for Thomas Eisfeld to finish the move.
As mentioned above, this was the last game of the Asia Tour, and the team will now be heading back to London to continue the pre-season preparations.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Arsenal vs. Manchester City
0-2, Pre-season Friendly, Beijing National Stadium, 2012-07-27
Even though the result, obviously, is really disappointing, there are plenty of positives to take from this game. Kyle Bartley said in a post-game interview that pre-season is for making mistakes, and he is really onto something there, you make mistakes and experiment a bit in pre-season and then you just make sure that the mistakes aren't repeated once the season begins.
What I really liked about our display in this game was the amount of shooting. The players took many shots and many of them were good ones! In the first half Theo Walcott had a wonderful shot that unfortunately went just over the far post. And the hands down best strike of the game was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's screamer that hit both the posts! You don't see that very often!
There were plenty of substitutions in the game, so that pretty much every player got to play a part in the game. That, of course, means that the performance will be a bit more unstable, as new players come in with new parts to play.
Overall it was a very enjoyable game with plenty of creativity going forward.
Even though the result, obviously, is really disappointing, there are plenty of positives to take from this game. Kyle Bartley said in a post-game interview that pre-season is for making mistakes, and he is really onto something there, you make mistakes and experiment a bit in pre-season and then you just make sure that the mistakes aren't repeated once the season begins.
What I really liked about our display in this game was the amount of shooting. The players took many shots and many of them were good ones! In the first half Theo Walcott had a wonderful shot that unfortunately went just over the far post. And the hands down best strike of the game was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's screamer that hit both the posts! You don't see that very often!
There were plenty of substitutions in the game, so that pretty much every player got to play a part in the game. That, of course, means that the performance will be a bit more unstable, as new players come in with new parts to play.
Overall it was a very enjoyable game with plenty of creativity going forward.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Malaysia XI vs. Arsenal
2-1, Pre-Season Friendly, National Stadium Bukit Jalil, 2012-07-24
Eisfeld 87,
Aneke 90
This was the first friendly of the Asia Tour this year, and what a game it proved to be!
Malaysia scored just before half-time, and at half-time the entire Arsenal team was changed! Well, all except for the 'keeper that is, Mannone was the only player to last the entire 90 minutes for us.
It took pretty much the entire second half for us to find the equalizer, young Tomas Eisfeld scored that one. Then, just at the end of the game another youngster, this time Chuks Aneke, found the back of the net to win us the game through a deflected shot.
As the boss said after the game, the result doesn't really matter this early in the pre-season, some of the lads have only had three days of pre-season training! But it's always sweet with victory, and a turn-around none the less!
Monday, July 16, 2012
The Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup
The Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup was a cup consisting of matches played for 45 minutes during the 14th of July. Arsenal started off with a clash against Anderlecht and finished the cup with a game against the hosts (who just got promoted to the Premier League), Southampton. Both games were held at the St Mary's Stadium.
2012-07-14
Anderlecht vs. Arsenal
0-1
Henri Lansbury marked his return from loan with a winning goal against Anderlecht in the first game of the cup. However, Anderlecht began the game best, they scored a goal within five minutes.Yet the goal was, as the scoreline implies, deemed offside (correctly).
Chamakh had a shot blocked by the Anderlecht 'keeper before Henri Lansbury could win the game for us. Carl Jenkinson made a great run forward and provided an excellent cross for the young Englishman to finish at close-range.
Southampton vs. Arsenal
1-1 (Southampton won 5-4 on penalties)
In the final game of the tournament Arsenal faced the hosts, Southampton. The game went all the way to penalties, as Gervinho equalised the scoreline in the first half.
Southampton began the shoot-out, and scored. Then Andre Santos stepped up, and scored as well. Southampton converted the next penalty, as did Francis Coquelin for us. Once again Southampton scored, and once again we equalised, this time through the young Swedish talent Kristoffer Olsson. Southampton proved spotless in this penalty shoot-out, as their next two penalties went in, and in between those two Craig Eastmond got to score as well. However, the shoot-out came to an end when young Kyle Ebecilio missed his penalty.
Even though we lost our last game, we won the cup! So we got to lift the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, hopefully we'll get to lift far grander trophies as the season develops! (no offence intended!)
2012-07-14
Anderlecht vs. Arsenal
0-1
Henri Lansbury marked his return from loan with a winning goal against Anderlecht in the first game of the cup. However, Anderlecht began the game best, they scored a goal within five minutes.Yet the goal was, as the scoreline implies, deemed offside (correctly).
Chamakh had a shot blocked by the Anderlecht 'keeper before Henri Lansbury could win the game for us. Carl Jenkinson made a great run forward and provided an excellent cross for the young Englishman to finish at close-range.
Southampton vs. Arsenal
1-1 (Southampton won 5-4 on penalties)
In the final game of the tournament Arsenal faced the hosts, Southampton. The game went all the way to penalties, as Gervinho equalised the scoreline in the first half.
Southampton began the shoot-out, and scored. Then Andre Santos stepped up, and scored as well. Southampton converted the next penalty, as did Francis Coquelin for us. Once again Southampton scored, and once again we equalised, this time through the young Swedish talent Kristoffer Olsson. Southampton proved spotless in this penalty shoot-out, as their next two penalties went in, and in between those two Craig Eastmond got to score as well. However, the shoot-out came to an end when young Kyle Ebecilio missed his penalty.
Even though we lost our last game, we won the cup! So we got to lift the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup, hopefully we'll get to lift far grander trophies as the season develops! (no offence intended!)
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Benfica vs. Arsenal
1-2, Pre-season; Eusebio Cup, Estadio da Luz, 6/8 -11
van Persie 33
Disappointing end to the pre-season,, yet the result isn't too bad,, whats worse is that we have picked up quite a few injuries this summer,, which isn't exactly ideal a week before the season start...
Van Persie has looked really good this summer, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when he put us ahead after receiving the ball from Gibbs.
Didn't get to watch the game as I was away, but we took the lead into half-time but lost the game in the second half.
van Persie 33
Disappointing end to the pre-season,, yet the result isn't too bad,, whats worse is that we have picked up quite a few injuries this summer,, which isn't exactly ideal a week before the season start...
Van Persie has looked really good this summer, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when he put us ahead after receiving the ball from Gibbs.
Didn't get to watch the game as I was away, but we took the lead into half-time but lost the game in the second half.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Emirates Cup
Arsenal vs. Boca Juniors
2-2, Emirates Stadium, 30/7 -11
van Persie 29,
Ramsey 46
Didn't get to see any of the games as I was in Spain with a friend during the tournament. Have seen the highlights though, and Gervinho seem to be linking up nice with van Persie, as he provided a great assist for the first goal. Just after half time Ramsey scored through a great strike but we didn't manage to keep things tight and in the end the game finished all square.
Arsenal vs. New York Red Bulls
1-1, Emirates Stadium, 31/7 -11
van Persie 42
Thierry Henry started the game for NY Red Bulls, and recieved a warm welcome. He was highly involved in the equalizer that they produced in the final minutes through an unfortunate own goal by Bartley. It was van Persie, however, who started the scoring when he scored a header in the first half. Once again we didn't quite manage to hold on to the lead and therefore Henry got to lift the trophy at the Emirates for New York Red Bulls.
Injury Update;
-Both Wilshere and Walcott picked up injuries, but both are expected to be better in a some days time.
-Fabregas is back in training but didn't feature in the tournament, partly due to the Barcelona situation.
2-2, Emirates Stadium, 30/7 -11
van Persie 29,
Ramsey 46
Didn't get to see any of the games as I was in Spain with a friend during the tournament. Have seen the highlights though, and Gervinho seem to be linking up nice with van Persie, as he provided a great assist for the first goal. Just after half time Ramsey scored through a great strike but we didn't manage to keep things tight and in the end the game finished all square.
Arsenal vs. New York Red Bulls
1-1, Emirates Stadium, 31/7 -11
van Persie 42
Thierry Henry started the game for NY Red Bulls, and recieved a warm welcome. He was highly involved in the equalizer that they produced in the final minutes through an unfortunate own goal by Bartley. It was van Persie, however, who started the scoring when he scored a header in the first half. Once again we didn't quite manage to hold on to the lead and therefore Henry got to lift the trophy at the Emirates for New York Red Bulls.
Injury Update;
-Both Wilshere and Walcott picked up injuries, but both are expected to be better in a some days time.
-Fabregas is back in training but didn't feature in the tournament, partly due to the Barcelona situation.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
FC Cologne vs. Arsenal
2-1, Pre-Season, Rhein Energie Stadion, 23/7 -11
Gervinho 7, 15
Amazing debut for our new Ivorian striker Gervinho! We looked incredible offensively in the first half, a lot of that was down to Jack Wilshere, he has looked brilliant this pre-season, he definitely ran our midfield in this game's first half.
The opening goal was a real beauty, Wilshere set up Gervinho with a breath-taking ball that went over the opposition defense straight in the path of the Ivorian striker, whose finish was clinical!
It didn't take long before he was on target again, Walcott provided a great cross for Gervinho to score from close range.
Just before half-time Jenkinson got really unlucky when his clearance went over Szczesny (who was on his way out to collect the ball) and into our own net. He looked pretty bummed out about it but fortunately lots of team-mates came to comfort him, so I'd reckon he'll recover quickly.
In the second half we didn't have the same rhytm in our play (could be down to the fact that the entire team except for Gibbs had been replaced).
However, there was a sad ending to the game when Henderson (who had replaced Gibbs 70th minute) got injured whilst committing to a tackle, it appeared as though he twisted his knee, and he had to be stretchered off the pitch.
Injury Update;
-Diaby has a long term injury that will keep him out of the start of the season.
-Fabregas failed to recover from a muscular injury in time for this game, hopefully he'll be fit (and still an Arsenal player) for the Emirates Cup.
-Fabianski made his debut from his injury in this game, so it was good to see him back in action
-Eboue missed this game through injury, but it doesn't seem to be a long term one.
Gervinho 7, 15
Amazing debut for our new Ivorian striker Gervinho! We looked incredible offensively in the first half, a lot of that was down to Jack Wilshere, he has looked brilliant this pre-season, he definitely ran our midfield in this game's first half.
The opening goal was a real beauty, Wilshere set up Gervinho with a breath-taking ball that went over the opposition defense straight in the path of the Ivorian striker, whose finish was clinical!
It didn't take long before he was on target again, Walcott provided a great cross for Gervinho to score from close range.
Just before half-time Jenkinson got really unlucky when his clearance went over Szczesny (who was on his way out to collect the ball) and into our own net. He looked pretty bummed out about it but fortunately lots of team-mates came to comfort him, so I'd reckon he'll recover quickly.
In the second half we didn't have the same rhytm in our play (could be down to the fact that the entire team except for Gibbs had been replaced).
However, there was a sad ending to the game when Henderson (who had replaced Gibbs 70th minute) got injured whilst committing to a tackle, it appeared as though he twisted his knee, and he had to be stretchered off the pitch.
Injury Update;
-Diaby has a long term injury that will keep him out of the start of the season.
-Fabregas failed to recover from a muscular injury in time for this game, hopefully he'll be fit (and still an Arsenal player) for the Emirates Cup.
-Fabianski made his debut from his injury in this game, so it was good to see him back in action
-Eboue missed this game through injury, but it doesn't seem to be a long term one.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Hangzhou Greentown vs. Arsenal
1-1, Pre-season: Asia Tour, Meihu Stadium, 16/7 -11
Vela 45
There were some changes for this game, but generally it was the team that came on for the second half last time that got to start this game, and vice versa.
We got off to a really bad start, making some significant mistakes and eventually the Chinese side took advantage of it.
But fortunately just before half time Vela got us back in the game, when he tapped in the rebound from van Persie's shot! Not quite as stylish as his former goals, yet he proves to be quite a goalscorer!
We played better in the second half, and had lots of decent chances to win the game, it wasn't to be this time around though, and now the team heads back to Europe.
Vela 45
There were some changes for this game, but generally it was the team that came on for the second half last time that got to start this game, and vice versa.
We got off to a really bad start, making some significant mistakes and eventually the Chinese side took advantage of it.
But fortunately just before half time Vela got us back in the game, when he tapped in the rebound from van Persie's shot! Not quite as stylish as his former goals, yet he proves to be quite a goalscorer!
We played better in the second half, and had lots of decent chances to win the game, it wasn't to be this time around though, and now the team heads back to Europe.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Malaysia XI vs. Arsenal
4-0, Pre-season: Asia Tour, Bukit Jalil Stadium, 13/7 -11
Ramsey 5 (pen),
Walcott 37,
Vela 58,
Rosicky 90
The first game of the 11/12 season ended very well for us, a comfortable 4-0 win, but I can't say that I expected anything else. This was the first time to see our two new boys in action, Ryo Miyaichi (a quick winger that we signed last year but since he went on loan at once I hadn't seen him in action until today) and Carl Jenkinson (a right-back from Charlton that we signed earlier this year).
The first half had a lot of pace and action, we started brightly and when Wilshere was clipped in the box Ramsey got the chance to put us in front which he comfortably did. After that first goal the Malaysian team built up some momentum, but they weren't ever close to scoring. Walcott scored the second with a delightful chip, yet you have to give Ramsey a lot of credit for that goal as well since it was his amazing pass that gave Walcott the chance.
There were close to eleven changes for the second half and we couldn't quite get up to the same pace that we had in the first half, but we did score another two goals, the first one came from Vela, and it didn't come as a surprise when he decided to lift the ball over the keeper instead of going for a more direct shot, but he truly is the master of lifting the ball into goal, and it always looks classy. Rosicky got to wrap the game up in the final minutes when he headed the ball in from a good Arshavin cross.
We've still got a lot to look ahead for, and the new players really look exciting, I truly thought that they both did a great first game for the club and believe that they can become something big in the future.
The reason that I got to see this game is that Arsenal now have included Arsenal Player in the membership. Arsenal Player is like ATVO from former seasons, and they are streaming the pre-season games live! Smashing!
Just to finish it all off I've got some bad news.. Clichy has left the club for Manchester City (who seem to be buying all of our players lately...)
Ramsey 5 (pen),
Walcott 37,
Vela 58,
Rosicky 90
The first game of the 11/12 season ended very well for us, a comfortable 4-0 win, but I can't say that I expected anything else. This was the first time to see our two new boys in action, Ryo Miyaichi (a quick winger that we signed last year but since he went on loan at once I hadn't seen him in action until today) and Carl Jenkinson (a right-back from Charlton that we signed earlier this year).
The first half had a lot of pace and action, we started brightly and when Wilshere was clipped in the box Ramsey got the chance to put us in front which he comfortably did. After that first goal the Malaysian team built up some momentum, but they weren't ever close to scoring. Walcott scored the second with a delightful chip, yet you have to give Ramsey a lot of credit for that goal as well since it was his amazing pass that gave Walcott the chance.
There were close to eleven changes for the second half and we couldn't quite get up to the same pace that we had in the first half, but we did score another two goals, the first one came from Vela, and it didn't come as a surprise when he decided to lift the ball over the keeper instead of going for a more direct shot, but he truly is the master of lifting the ball into goal, and it always looks classy. Rosicky got to wrap the game up in the final minutes when he headed the ball in from a good Arshavin cross.
We've still got a lot to look ahead for, and the new players really look exciting, I truly thought that they both did a great first game for the club and believe that they can become something big in the future.
The reason that I got to see this game is that Arsenal now have included Arsenal Player in the membership. Arsenal Player is like ATVO from former seasons, and they are streaming the pre-season games live! Smashing!
Just to finish it all off I've got some bad news.. Clichy has left the club for Manchester City (who seem to be buying all of our players lately...)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Arsenal vs. Celtic
3-2, Emirates Cup, Emirates Stadium, 1/8 -10
Vela 3,
Sagna 45,
Nasri 51
Ahead of the game we knew that a win would be enough to win the cup, as Milan and Lyon played out another draw, but it didn't go as easy as you first could have thought when we were 3-0 up, because of Celtic's late fight-back.
First they missed a penalty and then got really lucky when the ball bounced just about everywhere after a corner, and eventually played two Celtic players free, ten minutes later they made it 2 but after that we managed to keep tight.
We started the game brilliantly, scoring after just three minutes when Walcott broke through and played it into the box, where Vela could smash it in.
Just before half-time Sagna, of all people, increased the lead, a corner had just been played back and he picked up the ball from Rosicky and his 20-yard effort went straight in, a really beautiful goal, with his left foot! His celebrations were amongst the happiest I have ever seen (in an interview just after the game he simply said 'I didn't know what to do when I scored!'), which is not so strange as that strike was his second ever in the Arsenal shirt (the other one a header against Chelsea in 2008).
A couple of substitutions were made before the game got underway once again, but it didn't affect the goal-scoring, about six minutes into the second-half Clichy took a Celtic player by surprise and managed to win the ball high up on the pitch, he played to Chamakh, who quickly passed it back to Nasri, and Nasri spotted that Walcott had an opening ahead of him, but when Theo couldn't quite get through he played the ball back to Nasri, who's shot went past the goalkeeper and into the net!
As mentioned we didn't exactly cruise from there, but in the end it was a good win as it was enough to retain the Emirates cup trophy!
Vela 3,
Sagna 45,
Nasri 51
Ahead of the game we knew that a win would be enough to win the cup, as Milan and Lyon played out another draw, but it didn't go as easy as you first could have thought when we were 3-0 up, because of Celtic's late fight-back.
First they missed a penalty and then got really lucky when the ball bounced just about everywhere after a corner, and eventually played two Celtic players free, ten minutes later they made it 2 but after that we managed to keep tight.
We started the game brilliantly, scoring after just three minutes when Walcott broke through and played it into the box, where Vela could smash it in.
Just before half-time Sagna, of all people, increased the lead, a corner had just been played back and he picked up the ball from Rosicky and his 20-yard effort went straight in, a really beautiful goal, with his left foot! His celebrations were amongst the happiest I have ever seen (in an interview just after the game he simply said 'I didn't know what to do when I scored!'), which is not so strange as that strike was his second ever in the Arsenal shirt (the other one a header against Chelsea in 2008).
A couple of substitutions were made before the game got underway once again, but it didn't affect the goal-scoring, about six minutes into the second-half Clichy took a Celtic player by surprise and managed to win the ball high up on the pitch, he played to Chamakh, who quickly passed it back to Nasri, and Nasri spotted that Walcott had an opening ahead of him, but when Theo couldn't quite get through he played the ball back to Nasri, who's shot went past the goalkeeper and into the net!
As mentioned we didn't exactly cruise from there, but in the end it was a good win as it was enough to retain the Emirates cup trophy!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Arsenal vs. AC Milan
1-1, Emirates Cup, Emirates Stadium, 31/7 -10
Chamakh 36
A bit disappointing in the end as we conceded a goal after taking the lead, but we played really well so it was a successful pre-season game if you ask me.
It was the first time I got to see Chamakh and Koscielny play (found a site that showed the game on the computer) and they looked really great! Chamakh scored on his debut at the Emirates, and he played really good during the entire game, and Koscielny hardly made any mistake at all, he looked spotless.
The opening goal came when Arshavin shrugged off Gattuso before spotting Chamakh and provided a perfect pass for the moroccan striker to finish off in style.
We started the second period really well, but the ball just wouldn't go in and in the end that proved costly for us.
But now it is soon for the Celtic game, which we obviously have to win if we are to retain the Emirates Cup this year.
Chamakh 36
A bit disappointing in the end as we conceded a goal after taking the lead, but we played really well so it was a successful pre-season game if you ask me.
It was the first time I got to see Chamakh and Koscielny play (found a site that showed the game on the computer) and they looked really great! Chamakh scored on his debut at the Emirates, and he played really good during the entire game, and Koscielny hardly made any mistake at all, he looked spotless.
The opening goal came when Arshavin shrugged off Gattuso before spotting Chamakh and provided a perfect pass for the moroccan striker to finish off in style.
We started the second period really well, but the ball just wouldn't go in and in the end that proved costly for us.
But now it is soon for the Celtic game, which we obviously have to win if we are to retain the Emirates Cup this year.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pre-season in Austria
I haven't yet written about any pre-season game, and that's simply because I haven't watched the games, only seen the goals on youtube later on, but we have had some really good results so I thought that I could write them down;
I haven't written about the first pre-season game against Barnet, so even though it obviously didn't take place in Austria I will put it in;
Arsenal 4 - Barnet 0
Arshavin 2,
Simpson 16, 45,
Nasri 75
Arsenal 3 - SK Sturm Graz 0
Nasri 16, 43,
Lansbury 57
Arsenal 4 - SC Neusiedl 1919 0
Walcott 28,
Emmanuel-Thomas 30,
Chamakh 51 (pen),
Vela 65
Now the team is heading back to London to play in the Emirates Cup this weekend, hopefully I'll be able to see at least one game then.
I haven't written about the first pre-season game against Barnet, so even though it obviously didn't take place in Austria I will put it in;
Arsenal 4 - Barnet 0
Arshavin 2,
Simpson 16, 45,
Nasri 75
Arsenal 3 - SK Sturm Graz 0
Nasri 16, 43,
Lansbury 57
Arsenal 4 - SC Neusiedl 1919 0
Walcott 28,
Emmanuel-Thomas 30,
Chamakh 51 (pen),
Vela 65
Now the team is heading back to London to play in the Emirates Cup this weekend, hopefully I'll be able to see at least one game then.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Arsenal vs. Rangers
3-0, Emirates Cup, Pre-season, Emirates, 2/8 -09
Wilshere 2, 72,
Eduardo 11
Arsenal has finally taken the trophy back, after a year at Hamburg's, it has found it's way back on familiar grounds, back to Emirates.
Wilshere has been radiant during the entire weekend, and recieved both man of the match awards, and who could have thought of a better start towards a season that may be his breakthrough? Well, not to many I can say.
Arsenal looked comfortable throughout the entire game, the central midfield being entirely Spanish with Cesc and Fran Merida, after gaining a 2 goal lead after just eleven minutes, nothing was going to stop them.
After two minutes Wilshere found Fabregas with a lot of space, and when the Spaniard played in to Andrey, who easily slipped the ball back to the young Englishman who scored from 12 yards.
A couple of minutes later Eduardo got his chance, and took it gladly, Merida gave him a nice pass inside the area, and Eduardo, cool as you like, stroke the ball home.
After that Arsenal settled back a bit and just enjoyed the ride for a while, before Wilshere thought he would have a go at it again, with 18 minutes left Aaron Ramsey crossed a ball into the way of Jack Wilshere, who proudly could volley a third home.
And that's how Captain Cesc Fabregas could lift the trophy for Arsenal !
Wilshere 2, 72,
Eduardo 11
Arsenal has finally taken the trophy back, after a year at Hamburg's, it has found it's way back on familiar grounds, back to Emirates.
Wilshere has been radiant during the entire weekend, and recieved both man of the match awards, and who could have thought of a better start towards a season that may be his breakthrough? Well, not to many I can say.
Arsenal looked comfortable throughout the entire game, the central midfield being entirely Spanish with Cesc and Fran Merida, after gaining a 2 goal lead after just eleven minutes, nothing was going to stop them.
After two minutes Wilshere found Fabregas with a lot of space, and when the Spaniard played in to Andrey, who easily slipped the ball back to the young Englishman who scored from 12 yards.
A couple of minutes later Eduardo got his chance, and took it gladly, Merida gave him a nice pass inside the area, and Eduardo, cool as you like, stroke the ball home.
After that Arsenal settled back a bit and just enjoyed the ride for a while, before Wilshere thought he would have a go at it again, with 18 minutes left Aaron Ramsey crossed a ball into the way of Jack Wilshere, who proudly could volley a third home.
And that's how Captain Cesc Fabregas could lift the trophy for Arsenal !
Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid
2-1, Emirates Cup, Pre-season, Emirates, 1/8 -09
Arshavin 86, 90
Arsenal began this year's Emirates Cup with a tough win over Atletico, but much deserved.
It was Tomas Rosicky's first game at Emirates for quite som time, so it felt nice to make it with a win, even if the credit shall go to Andrey.
The first 45 minutes was not very eventful, but at halftime young Wilshere was brought on, and he started to crack the spanish defence open starting with some great passes.
But the kick that Arsenal needed came when Bendtner, van Persie and Ramsey was replaced by Fabregas, Eduardo and Arshavin in the 66th minute.
Twenty minutes after the change Fabregas sent a great ball over to Andrey, who thundered in 1-0, and since it was only 4 minutes + injury time left, everybody thought it was pretty much over, but that isn't really what happened.
With 1 minute + injury time left German Pacheco got the equalizer, and everbody started to settle for a draw, except one little Russian, who picked up a bad header and runned past the goalkeeper, and managed to give Arsenal the winner in injury time.
After this game Arsenal was leading the table with 5 points over Rangers 4 points they got after their 1-0 win over PSG.
The Goals;
Arshavin 86, 90
Arsenal began this year's Emirates Cup with a tough win over Atletico, but much deserved.
It was Tomas Rosicky's first game at Emirates for quite som time, so it felt nice to make it with a win, even if the credit shall go to Andrey.
The first 45 minutes was not very eventful, but at halftime young Wilshere was brought on, and he started to crack the spanish defence open starting with some great passes.
But the kick that Arsenal needed came when Bendtner, van Persie and Ramsey was replaced by Fabregas, Eduardo and Arshavin in the 66th minute.
Twenty minutes after the change Fabregas sent a great ball over to Andrey, who thundered in 1-0, and since it was only 4 minutes + injury time left, everybody thought it was pretty much over, but that isn't really what happened.
With 1 minute + injury time left German Pacheco got the equalizer, and everbody started to settle for a draw, except one little Russian, who picked up a bad header and runned past the goalkeeper, and managed to give Arsenal the winner in injury time.
After this game Arsenal was leading the table with 5 points over Rangers 4 points they got after their 1-0 win over PSG.
The Goals;
Hannover 96 vs. Arsenal
1-0, Pre-season, AWD-Arena, Germany, 29/7 -09
Fabregas 8
Arsenal were in good control the entire game, but they were up against the hardest side they have faced so far during the pre-season games.
The Germans were the first to get a good chans after seven minutes, but Arsenal responded brilliant, van Persie slid in a perfect pass for Cesc to pick up and go past the goalkeeper before easily place the ball back in the net.
Arshavin was close to double the tally just after the goal, but his shot was blocked by the Hannover 'keeper.
Just before the game the sad news arrived of Toure's depature, he went to Manchester City like Ade, after some times speculations, we are all gonna' miss him, but this will of course open up for Vermaelen.
Fabregas 8
Arsenal were in good control the entire game, but they were up against the hardest side they have faced so far during the pre-season games.
The Germans were the first to get a good chans after seven minutes, but Arsenal responded brilliant, van Persie slid in a perfect pass for Cesc to pick up and go past the goalkeeper before easily place the ball back in the net.
Arshavin was close to double the tally just after the goal, but his shot was blocked by the Hannover 'keeper.
Just before the game the sad news arrived of Toure's depature, he went to Manchester City like Ade, after some times speculations, we are all gonna' miss him, but this will of course open up for Vermaelen.
Szombathelyi Haladás vs. Arsenal
5-0, Pre-season, Hungary, 27/7 -09
Bendtner 17, 43,
Eduardo 24, 40,
Van Persie 66 (pen)
Arsenal continued their goal frenzy, with Eduardo marking his first pre-season appearence with a stunning brace.
Bendtner started the celebrations with a header, and Eduardo wasn't far behind with a classy low shot before completing the brace with a real free-kick screamer.
Just before halftime the Dane put Arsenal 4-0 up after he recieved a great pass from Jack Wilshere, who really played well.
About fifteen minutes after the break, Robin van Persie rounded things up after Bendtner was tackled in the box, another superb penalty from the Dutchman.
Highlights and Goals;
Bendtner 17, 43,
Eduardo 24, 40,
Van Persie 66 (pen)
Arsenal continued their goal frenzy, with Eduardo marking his first pre-season appearence with a stunning brace.
Bendtner started the celebrations with a header, and Eduardo wasn't far behind with a classy low shot before completing the brace with a real free-kick screamer.
Just before halftime the Dane put Arsenal 4-0 up after he recieved a great pass from Jack Wilshere, who really played well.
About fifteen minutes after the break, Robin van Persie rounded things up after Bendtner was tackled in the box, another superb penalty from the Dutchman.
Highlights and Goals;
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
SC Columbia vs. Arsenal
7-1, Pre-season, Schwarzlackenau Stadium, Austria, 21/7 -09
Bendtner 36, 44,
Ramsey 39, 83,
Van Persie 56 (pen), 73,
Gallas 77
Arsenal really took things to the next level after a pretty calm half hour, they were dominating the entire game, but they were unlucky when Almunias first touch from a back pass was a bit heavy, and as Lehner slid in, the attempted clearance bounced back from Lehner into goal.
But that was just the wake up call Arsenal needed, cause then things started to change, a minute after the back goal, Bendtner got his first when Diaby found him and the Dane fired up in the top of the net.
And after just three minutes Ramsey got his first when he evaded a challenge on the edge of the box, and shot Arsenal forward in the bottom corner.
Four minutes later the Dane broke loose, running from the deep, he passed the ball to Ramsey who gave it back to him just in time for Bendtner to get pass the Columbian 'keeper and roll the ball into 3-1.
And after halftime, Arsenal showed no signs to slow down, with eight changes in the team, including van Persie in, things was just getting started.
Armand Traore, back from loan spell at Portsmouth, delivered a cross into the box, which led to van Persie's first penalty for the season (;
The Dutchman nearly set up Denilson for a fifth, but the Columbian keeper did well, running out to block Denilsons low shot.
Wilshere and Ramsey returned with 20 minutes to go, which meant that Arshavin and Eboue was given a well deserved breather.
Sagna delivered a cross in for van Persie to head home and Gallas did likewise with fourteen minutes to go, lastly Ramsey rounded tings up with a remarkable shot that went from the post and in.
But it wasn't all good with this game either, sad news where received during build-up, Samir Nasri will be out for three months with a fracture on his right fibula.
At least Rosicky is back to fill up his place, but it is still a hard blow for the team to lose Nasri for three entire months.
First Half Highlights;
Bendtner 36, 44,
Ramsey 39, 83,
Van Persie 56 (pen), 73,
Gallas 77
Arsenal really took things to the next level after a pretty calm half hour, they were dominating the entire game, but they were unlucky when Almunias first touch from a back pass was a bit heavy, and as Lehner slid in, the attempted clearance bounced back from Lehner into goal.
But that was just the wake up call Arsenal needed, cause then things started to change, a minute after the back goal, Bendtner got his first when Diaby found him and the Dane fired up in the top of the net.
And after just three minutes Ramsey got his first when he evaded a challenge on the edge of the box, and shot Arsenal forward in the bottom corner.
Four minutes later the Dane broke loose, running from the deep, he passed the ball to Ramsey who gave it back to him just in time for Bendtner to get pass the Columbian 'keeper and roll the ball into 3-1.
And after halftime, Arsenal showed no signs to slow down, with eight changes in the team, including van Persie in, things was just getting started.
Armand Traore, back from loan spell at Portsmouth, delivered a cross into the box, which led to van Persie's first penalty for the season (;
The Dutchman nearly set up Denilson for a fifth, but the Columbian keeper did well, running out to block Denilsons low shot.
Wilshere and Ramsey returned with 20 minutes to go, which meant that Arshavin and Eboue was given a well deserved breather.
Sagna delivered a cross in for van Persie to head home and Gallas did likewise with fourteen minutes to go, lastly Ramsey rounded tings up with a remarkable shot that went from the post and in.
But it wasn't all good with this game either, sad news where received during build-up, Samir Nasri will be out for three months with a fracture on his right fibula.
At least Rosicky is back to fill up his place, but it is still a hard blow for the team to lose Nasri for three entire months.
First Half Highlights;
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Barnet vs. Arsenal
2-2, Pre-Season, Underhill Stadium, 18/7 -09
Arshavin 43, Barazite 51
Today Arsenal played their first pre-season game, not so many players from the first team featured in the game because the game is quite early on, but it was a nice chance for the youngsters and of course Vermaelen to play(he was really good), but highlight this Tomas Rosicky played his first game in like 18 months in front of 5065 fans, there where a lot of cheering i can tell ya !
The starting eleven included Almunia, Djourou, Gallas(finally back), Vermaelen, Silvestre, Wilshere, Randall, Frimpong, Rosicky, Arshavin & Watt.
The Barnet goalkeeper had a busy first half, with lots of Arsenal chances which were created by Rosicky, it just proves what an assess he will be this season.
In the 43rd minute Sanchez Watt set up Arshavin by the far corner and the russian finished high on close range, 1-0 to the gunners.
But just before half-time Barnet got a free-kick that unfortunately Yakubu climbed highest on, and could head home 1-1 to Barnet.
As expected there were lots of changes in half-time, in fact, the only Arsenal player left on pitch was Vermaelen, who played the entire 90 minutes.
So the changes was as follows; Vito Mannone, Craig Eastmond, Luke Ayling, Thomas Cruise, Conor Henderson, Francis Coquelin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Nacer Barazite and Jay Simpson.
Arsenal regained the lead after just 4 minutes, and they did it in style, or should I say Nacer Barazite did it in style for the third time in a row in just these pre-seasons against Barnet.
He was forced out of the penalty area, but found little air and took a shot from 20 yards, up in the top corner of the target.
After that Arsenal seemed to be in control, but unfortunately with 8 minutes of original time to go, when Charles popped up in the box and found the bottom corner of Mannones goal.
'But that was not the story of today. Welcome back, Tomas Rosicky!'
Unfortunately it wasn't all good news for today, this evening Ade signed for Man City, so i guess we won't be seeing him around on Tuesday when the team heads to Austria for training camp.
But he hasn't been all that commited to the club, and I think that I'm not the only one to say that, the boss has been looking over Chamakh from Bordeaux, but says that he is not close to signing anyone yet since we got a quite big squad, but he will assess the situation in the next couple of games.
So as we say Welcome back Tomas Rosicky, we also say Goodbye to Emmanuel Adebayor.
Arshavin 43, Barazite 51
Today Arsenal played their first pre-season game, not so many players from the first team featured in the game because the game is quite early on, but it was a nice chance for the youngsters and of course Vermaelen to play(he was really good), but highlight this Tomas Rosicky played his first game in like 18 months in front of 5065 fans, there where a lot of cheering i can tell ya !
The starting eleven included Almunia, Djourou, Gallas(finally back), Vermaelen, Silvestre, Wilshere, Randall, Frimpong, Rosicky, Arshavin & Watt.
The Barnet goalkeeper had a busy first half, with lots of Arsenal chances which were created by Rosicky, it just proves what an assess he will be this season.
In the 43rd minute Sanchez Watt set up Arshavin by the far corner and the russian finished high on close range, 1-0 to the gunners.
But just before half-time Barnet got a free-kick that unfortunately Yakubu climbed highest on, and could head home 1-1 to Barnet.
As expected there were lots of changes in half-time, in fact, the only Arsenal player left on pitch was Vermaelen, who played the entire 90 minutes.
So the changes was as follows; Vito Mannone, Craig Eastmond, Luke Ayling, Thomas Cruise, Conor Henderson, Francis Coquelin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Nacer Barazite and Jay Simpson.
Arsenal regained the lead after just 4 minutes, and they did it in style, or should I say Nacer Barazite did it in style for the third time in a row in just these pre-seasons against Barnet.
He was forced out of the penalty area, but found little air and took a shot from 20 yards, up in the top corner of the target.
After that Arsenal seemed to be in control, but unfortunately with 8 minutes of original time to go, when Charles popped up in the box and found the bottom corner of Mannones goal.
'But that was not the story of today. Welcome back, Tomas Rosicky!'
Unfortunately it wasn't all good news for today, this evening Ade signed for Man City, so i guess we won't be seeing him around on Tuesday when the team heads to Austria for training camp.
But he hasn't been all that commited to the club, and I think that I'm not the only one to say that, the boss has been looking over Chamakh from Bordeaux, but says that he is not close to signing anyone yet since we got a quite big squad, but he will assess the situation in the next couple of games.
So as we say Welcome back Tomas Rosicky, we also say Goodbye to Emmanuel Adebayor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)