Match Report – Match Highlights – Post-Match Press Conference
Final Result: Arsenal 2-0 Lyon (Saliba 9′, Gabriel 27′)
Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Raya; Zinchenko (Calafiori 64′), Saliba (Kiwior 78′), Gabriel (Myles-Kelly 78′), White; Rice (G. Jesus 64′), Partey (Jorginho 77′), Odegaard; Martinelli (Trossard 78′), Saka (Nelson 77′), Havertz (Nwaneri 77′)
The stage was set for the final preseason game of the new campaign as Arsenal hosted Lyon in the Emirates Cup. Last time around, the Gunners dispatched Granit Xhaka and his Bayer Leverkusen teammates with consummate ease, and the occasion still served as a nice homecoming for the Swiss maestro that spent seven years in North London.
The starting XI had an all too familiar look, which was the exact consistent setup that Mikel Arteta deployed in the second half of the season, which saw Arsenal win game after game before that Jekyll and Hyde performance against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa that saw the title tilt towards Manchester City’s advantage, and knowing them, they never looked back and another promising campaign ended with sheer disappointment.
Lyon had a familiar face in the form of former Hale End graduate, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and there would have also been an opportunity to watch former striker, Alexandre Lacazette, in action but he was recuperating at home from his Olympic Games sojourns that saw him pick up a silver medal for France after their pulsating final match against Spain’s U23s. The French fans must be absolutely disgusted with Spain right now – knocking their senior side off in the European Championships semifinals and losing to the youngins in the finals.
As expected, Arsenal dominated the proceedings against Lyon with many of the attacking outlays coming from a rejuvenated Gabriel Martinelli. Like Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli didn’t meet up the lofty heights he achieved in the previous campaign and he eventually lost his place in the starting lineup to Leandro Trossard. Their competition for places will certainly bring the best out of both of them, and the major beneficiary will be Arsenal. Early on, Martinelli received a threaded ball from Declan Rice and swung the ball with his left foot to the danger area. Bukayo Saka was on hand to attack the ball but the Lyon goalie made a superb save.
The onslaught continued and Arsenal gained the lead when Rice swung in a sumptuous ball that was headed home by William Saliba. The big man made his imposing presence known, scoring a cushioned header that left the Lyon goalie with no chance in Hell to attempt a save. Oleksandr Zinchenko, fresh from a number change, had a spring up his step and showed his keen eye for creativity, dinking a neat cross to Saka that was headed wide off the mark. Saka is an amazing talent, but he needs to work better with his heading ability, even though it’s not a strong suit for him.
Not long after Gabriel, a renowned headmaster, showed Saka how its done when he fixated his eyes on another delicious Rice cross and thumped the header home. Arsenal broke the Premier League record for goals from set pieces last season (22) and it’s evident that the trend is not stopping any time soon. Despite being a very good attacking side on the final third, the mere fact that they have great set piece abilities is another string to their attacking bow. There was almost time for a third header when Martinelli nodded Saka’s inswinger to the danger area, but Kai Havertz didn’t position himself well, causing him to head the ball over the net at point blank range.
Martinelli continued to remain a live wire, making life miserable for the Lyon full back, Clinton Mata, and after sending him to the cleaners from an attacking play, he teed up Martin Odegaard whose one-time goal-bound shot was saved by Lucas Perri. Arsenal’s left flank was literally on fire with chance after chance emanating from that playing position, and it was almost 3-0 when Zinchenko sent another sweet cross to Saka whose header actually beat Perri but his post spared his blushes.
Understandably, Arsenal took their foot off the pedal, but Lyon hardly had a sniff at goal. Said Benrahma had an effort that sailed over the bar but late on, Lyon had a big chance when Perri’s cross field impressive throw wasn’t dealt with appropriately by Jorginho. Thankfully for Arsenal, Ernest Nuamah is no Heung-Min Son, but credit will also go to David Raya for making himself big to parry the ball to safety.
The ref’s whistle was like music to the ears of the Arsenal faithful and for the third year running, Arsenal wins the Emirates Cup. My key takeaways include seeing the late arrivals like Saliba, Rice and Saka come up to speed really fast, considering their European Championship excursions and also getting a first glimpse of Riccardo Calafiori for the first time. This preseason has seen G. Jesus pick up some great form and it will be very interesting to see how his minutes will be managed.
That’s enough yapping for one morning.
Sayonara.
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