Tour of the USA #AsenalInUSA

As far as a Pre-season can go, things definitely got off to the worst possible start as club captain, now departing for Bordeaux, Laurent Koscielny refused to travel in a bid to push through a move back to his native country France. It was a blow to an already damaged squad, still recovering from our humiliation in the Europa League final to Chelsea. The team selected to travel was as followed:

The side was full of youth as well as most of our first team except the likes of Lucas Torreira and Alex Iwobi, who were fulfilling national duties in the Copa America and African Cup of Nations respectively this summer. Calum Chambers, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe were among those returning from loan spells with the later two returning from time abroad in the Bundesliga.

Colorado Rapids 0-3 Arsenal (Saka 13, Olayinka 29, Martinelli 61)

Unai Emery chose a young exciting side in our first match of Pre-season against Colorado Rapids. The match was won by goals from Bukayo Saka, James Olayinka and new Brazilian signing Gabriel Martinelli. The match was a good run out for the side, with more experienced players entering the fray later on in the match, but would definitely not be the most challenging game in our tour of the USA.

The post-match conference was not surprisingly dominated by questions regarding the future of Laurent Koscielny, with Unai Emery all but confirming that the situation was beyond fixing but any deal involving his exit would need to be suitable to the clubs demands. A tough prospect in Bayern Munich followed…

Bayern Munich 1-2 Arsenal (Lewandowski 71 – Poznanski OG 49, Nketiah 88)

The first test, and surprising result, was a 2-1 victory against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in our newly launched ‘Banana Yellow’ away kit. Arsenal were not the favourites going into this match, especially with defence that has struggled over the last few years. Aubameyang had forced the own goal just after the break following a positive first half, again with glimpses of defensive frailties. Those defensive issues came to light as former Gunner Serge Gnabry crossed for Lewandowski to head in on 71 minutes. With the game destined for penalties Nketiah combined with John-Jules to give us the 2-1 win.

The performances of the youth players was particularly pleasing with Joe Willock producing a commanding display in midfield. The midfielder continued to produce confident and quality performances in following Pre-season matches. The 2-1 victory against Bayern continued our great start to the tour…

Fiorentina 0-3 Arsenal (Nketiah 15, Nketiah 66, Willock 89)

3 wins from 3 was confirmed as we beat Italian side Fiorentina, a brace for Eddie Nketiah and a late goal from the ever impressing Joe Willock. A similar theme had been forming throughout our tour, brilliant attacking play and clinical finishing but this match could’ve been a completely different result without a few good stops from Emiliano Martinez.

Whilst watching the game the thoughts of Real Madrid having the chances that Fiorentina missed could not escape my mind. I feared the worst going into the final game of our Pre-season tour…

Real Madrid 2 – 2 Arsenal (3-2 Pens) (Bale 57, Asensio 59 – Lacazette P’10, Aubameyang 24)

A game featuring goals, red cards and penalties is how our final match of our US Pre-season tour ended, with a penalties defeat for Arsenal against Real Madrid. Lacazette had given us the lead from the penalty spot following Nacho Fernandez’s dismissal for handball on the goal line which then Aubameyang capitalized on the by adding another on 24 minutes. However the game turned after Sokratis was given 2 yellow cards in 2 minutes to level the playing field again.

The second half was unfortunately won by the introduction of forgotten man Gareth Bale, followed by a Marco Asensio goal. The rest of the game was evenly contested with chances for both sides, but ultimately Monreal’s penalty hit the bar to give Madrid the victory in the penalty shootout.

It was a great Pre-season but there are genuine causes for concern with our defence. With Koscielny gone and Rob Holding still recovering from his long term injury the club is currently relying on 2 established defenders: Sokratis and Chambers, with new signing William Saliba still at St. Etienne until the 2020/2021 season. Arsenal have to make a CB signing before the 5pm deadline this Thursday or it could be another year of defensive mistakes and missing out of the Premier League’s Top 4.

The highlights of the tour for me were Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka really staking a claim for first team spots this season, especially with another tough Europa League campaign to follow…

The Socials…

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Until next time,
#COYG!