Another day, another trophy
Arsenal 1 (Walcott 50′) – Wolfsburg 0
Match Highlights – Post-Match Press Conference
If you might have noticed, I’m having some technical difficulties with the appearance of the site but I’ve contracted Mr. Fix It in the Wreck it Ralph movie to sort things out. Bear with me.
To be frank, I missed the entire first half of the match against Wolfsburg because I was in Yaba but from the highlights I saw afterwards, I didn’t really miss much. Theo Walcott started as a center forward and he had a couple of chances to make his mark. Firing a shot at the goalie with his first attempt and losing the composure I believe he’s renowned for. Mesut Ozil also hit the deck after a miscued effort that just missed by a lick of paint.
It was the second half I witnessed and I saw that young Gun, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, strutting his stuff with such confidence. After making mince meat of some marker, he had the option of passing to Chuba Akpom and Theo Walcott but the young lad chose the right option of feeding Walcott that toe poked the ball past Diego Benaglio to score what proved to be the match winner.
Walcott celebrating with Reine-Adelaide
Arsenal almost shot themselves on the foot when Mikel Arteta uncharacteristically gifted the ball to Kevin de Bruyne of all people but the Belgian blasted his shot into orbit. Reine-Adelaide continued to run the show and he made an audacious attempt with the outside of his boot to Walcott’s path. The Englishman put on the afterburners but Benaglio showed some good anticipation to avert the danger. Walcott was getting into the groove and he even attempted a Thierry Henry-esque one time finish that missed its intended target.
Petr Cech was enjoying his home debut and he was determined to mark it with a clean sheet. There were a couple of goal attempts from Ricardo Rodriguez and Josuha Guilavogui but it was bread and butter stuff for the Czech legend. Wenger wanted to add some oil to Arsenal’s engine by bringing on Aaron Ramsey and Ox. Both players almost contributed to scoring a second goal when Ox made one of his trademark slalom runs before feeding Ramsey but the Welsh Jesus’ chip went wide off the mark.
From that point onwards, it was a relatively dull affair that was sparked to life by Isaac Hayden’s beautiful curled effort that brought out the best in the goalie. The solitary goal was enough for the Gunners to win the Emirates Cup for the first time in five years.
Player Ratings
Defense
Petr Cech was assured in goal and made routine saves when he needed to. 7/10
Calum Chambers has adapted well to his center back role and he did okay at the heart of the Arsenal defense. 7/10
Gabriel didn’t have much to do then make some Denilson-esque side passes all game long. 6/10
Hector Bellerin struggled a bit defensively and didn’t offer much of a threat from an attacking standpoint. 6/10
Nacho Monreal put up another solid display as you’d expect from the Spaniard. 7/10
Midfield
Mikel Arteta looked tidy in possession but he almost committed an error that would have led to a goal. 6/10
Santi Cazorla didn’t influence the game as much as he would have liked. 6/10
Jack Wilshere had a very good game, spraying passes with such finesse. 7/10
Mesut Ozil didn’t replicate his awesome form of the previous game but he did good too. 7/10
Attack
Jeff Reine-Adelaide didn’t play like a 17-year-old and he showed why the club was ready to invest in him. Such a top lad. 9/10
Theo Walcott got another run-out as a center forward and popped up with the all-important goal. His numbers surely speak for him. 8/10
Substitutes
Chuba Akpom has been a different player since his hat-trick against Singapore. Terribly selfish and he struggled yesterday as well. 4/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injected his directness and pace into the game which changed the outlook of things. I’m tipping the lad for greatness this season. 7/10
Aaron Ramsey added some steel to the midfield when he replaced Arteta. 7/10
Olivier Giroud and Isaac Hayden didn’t play long enough to get a Gooner Daily rating.
All roads lead to Wembley.
Cech's 1st game: wins a BAT trophy. Cech's 2nd game: wins another Emirates Cup trophy. On to Wembley?*Pensive*
— è?!gmá (@enigma106) July 26, 2015
Food for thought.
Sayonara.
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