The Emirates Cup / PreSeason Thread.

The Mighty Emirates Cup has returned.

Who needs Champions League Football when you can win this prestigious event.

Jul 29 RB Leipzig vs Sevilla 14:00
Jul 29 Arsenal vs Benfica 16:20
Jul 30 RB Leipzig vs Benfica 14:00
Jul 30 Arsenal vs Sevilla 16:20

 

Currently 2-2- Between Arsenal and Benfica.

2 goals for Theo. First was a beautiful strike set up nicely by the human tank that is Kolasinac.

 

5-2 to Arsenal now.

Absolute peach from Iwobi. He's been excellent.

 

A few thoughts...

1. Kolasinac looks like an excellent signing. Very attacking and strong as an ox.
2. Walcott looks sharp.
3. Elneny is a headless chicken. On one hand I admire how much he runs, how much effort he puts in .. but he's a liability.
4. Giroud was pretty average but has somehow become the master of volleys.
5. Iwobi had another good game. Been our best player in PreSeason.
6. Lacazette is not just a finisher. He's very good on the ball.

 

Just back from work so missed the game. Great to see us romping to victory though. Will check the highlights out and offer my opinion on the game later. Great to hear that our new signings impressed though

 

Okay just seen the highlights and from what I saw, I thought we looked pretty good. Albeit with some all too familiar slack defending (although Mertesacker and Chambers are going to be nowhere near the first team next season)

Positives:

*Kolasinac looks like a beast. That brute force determination to win the ball and then chip it back for Walcott's volley will serve him well in the PL. He looks well suited to this league and I think he could challenge Monreal for that LB starting berth.

*Walcott looked sharp. I've knocked him recently and wondered whether we should sell him, but if he can stay fit then he's a decent option to have in our squad, especially for the Europa league and League cup.

*Riess Nelson. Very promising from the 17 year old. He looks intelligent as well as skillful and quick. Also I liked the way that he keeps his head up and picks out his passes and crosses. His play is purposeful and deliberate. A really good prospect and again with the EL and League cup he should get some games this season.

*Iwobi looking good again. Always looking to go forward and try and open up the defence. Lovely finish for his goal too.

*Giroud. People have been knocking him since he joined this club, but the guy scores goals. He also provides great link up play and he never complains, but just gets on with his job. He's a really good player to have in this Arsenal squad. It's about time people starting appreciating Giroud a bit more.

Negatives:

*We looked a bit sloppy in defence, both of Benfica's goals although coming from deflections, were preventable. That said, with Kos, Monreal and Bellerin in the team, we should be a bit sharper in defence.

*We still need to sign a central midfield player. As much as we all want to see Santi back working his magic for us, How realistic is this, especially long term ? Also for me Coquelin and Elneny are not good enough for a starting berth. Both decent squad players, but we need an MF enforcer. Maybe Xhaka can fill this role ?

*Other than that, decent enough. Although it's only pre-season still so we can't read too much into these games. I still think we need to do some business this window

 

Agree I think midfield should be a priority. I think its more likely we will sign another forward though.

Iwobi is back to the form he showed when he first broke through into the side. As much as I would like us to sign Lemar I think the money would be better spent on a top class central midfielder.

Another thing is I would like to see Chambers get some more game time. I think he could be well suited to this back three. (and It worries me that Wenger has been talking about playing Elneny there)

 

Elneny should be a back up to Xhaka/Coquelin. Don't really want to see him in a back three or four.

 

I know we won 5-2 in the end and I know it's only pre-season, but I am seriously concerned about the way we have defended in our matches. Perhaps it's because we fielded some inexperienced players, but our defenders have a tendency to go for the ball and not watch the man. There were too many times where Benfica got in behind because we had players out of position/going for the ball without tracking the runners from midfield. The scoreline flattered us, Benfica could easily have scored a couple more. I would like to say it's largely down to youth players that weren't familiar with one another, but I get a nasty feeling this kamikaze defending is going to lead into the upcoming season...I hope I'm wrong.

 

Yeah our defending has been poor. We are still easy to score against.
This is why I want us to sign a legitimate defensive midfielder. Elneny, Ramsey and Xhaka all have a habit of just casually drifting around the pitch leaving the defence exposed.

 

Yep still a glaring weakness in our squad. I think Xhaka will become a really good player, and could fill that role if we stick to a 3-4-3 with extra protection from the wing backs. But ideally I'd like to see us sign somebody like Carvalho or Goretzka as a deep lying midfield player.

 

The Sevilla game highlighted again how fragile we are defensively. I really want to see us go all out to get a solid CM/DM this window. There were times today where Sevilla simply walked through our midfield.

 

We do need a quality DM or CM powerhouse but not having Cazorla is having a knock on effect at both ends and his replacement type is necessary. Even with Lamar and Sanchez staying, we will find it hard with out Cazorla.

Problem is we have a fair amount of players that need to move on which will make our summer window drag on.

We need to see a lot more action from our management. After Lacazette it's slowed right down and I don't think they appreciate the impending difficulties we'll face this season on the pitch.

 

Matic could have been good but he is heading north. Sevilla doing to you what they did to Liverpool but couldn't do to Leicester.

Will be interesting to see Arsenal's approach to the Europa League. I hope Wenger puts a lot of emphasis on trying to win this as it might begin the process of your club being taken a bit more seriously in the CL again, by winning this particular trophy.

 

Absolutely no interest in Matic. Slow, lumbering oaf. With Xhaka next to him we'd have the slowest midfield in the world.

We need a dynamic, uber-fit terrier like Kante.

 

William Carvalho ? He's lightening quick.

 

or seri?

 

I don't know much about him, other than he had a good season for Nice. He looks a bit lightweight, but you would say the same about Kante really.

Is he any good ?

 

Congratulations on winning the Emirates Cup once again

Although most of us are trying to work out how a team with fewer points wins a trophy

 

I wouldnt call Seri a DM. He looks like a deep lying playmaker.