Gooner Talk

Arsenal fought their way back from 3-0 down to thump six past Legia Warsaw in a hugely entertaining, if somewhat defenceless, encounter.

The North Londoners found themselves three goals behind after just 37 minutes thanks to some truly woeful defending. Then goals from Marouane Chamakh and a brace from Emmanuel Eboue put them level before Kieran Gibbs made it 4-3 to the Gunners.

Legia got themselves back level before late goals from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Samir Nasri won the game for the north London side before the Poles once again scored leaving Wenger with some serious questions to ask of his first team back four. 

Arsenal’s Starting XI & Subs

Fabianski
Sagna – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Clichy
Wilshere – Frimpong – Nasri
Walcott – Chamakh – Rosicky

Subs: Szczesny, Gibbs, Nordtveit, Eboue, Lansbury, Emmanuel-Thomas, Vela.

Post-Match Reaction

“Legia played a game with good commitment. They started better than us and played well going forward. It was good preparation for us, Legia were dangerous going forward. In the end we won 6-5 but it was an enjoyable game,” said Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal’s English contingent showed Three Lions boss Fabio Capello exactly what talent he has waiting in the wings after the duo impressed during the Gunners’ Emirates Cup winning 3-2 victory over Celtic.

Walcott’s ingenuity created the third-minute opener for Mexican striker Carlos Vela, while youngster Wilshere showed superb trickery against a Bhoys side who almost put on a late comeback.

Goals from Vela, Bacary Sagna and Samir Nasri put the Gunners three goals to the good after just 51 minutes, but Celtic’s new signing Daryl Murphy and South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng gave Arsene Wenger another example as to why more defensive cover is needed.

Arsenal’s Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Vermaelen – Clichy
 Frimpong 
Wilshere – Rosicky
Walcott - Emmanuel-Thomas - Vela

Post-Match Reaction

After the game, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke about Emmanuel Frimpong’s recent pre-season performances and admitted that the FA should persuade him to play for England fast, instead of his country of birth, Ghana.

Wenger said: “Here you have a boy who can choose between England and Ghana.

“So if I was in your place, I would have no hesitation and invite him to play very quickly for England.”

Speaking on potential transfer targets, Wenger typically refused to get drawn in on names, but revealed that he wants to sign at least one defender before the September 1^st deadline.

“We still need a centre half of course. We are still short number wise. Just number wise. [We need] at least one. I would not like to come out on names because it raises the price straight away by 50 per cent.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger gave home debuts to summer signings Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny as the Gunners’ pre-season preparations were cranked up another notch with a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in the Emirates Cup.

Wenger’s side are hosting the weekend feast of football for the fourth successive summer, and are defending the trophy – the only ‘title’ they won last year.

Moroccan centre-forward Chamakh, a free signing from Bordeaux, took just 36 minutes to win over the Emirates Stadium faithful, slotting home with aplomb after good work by Andrey Arshavin.

Arsenal’s Starting XI

Fabianski
Eboue – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs
Wilshere – Frimpong – Rosicky
Nasri – Chamakh – Arshavin

Read the rest of this entry »

Arsenal continued their pre-season preparations by coasting to a 4-0 victory over Austrian part-timers SC Neusiedl 1919.

English forwards Theo Walcott and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored before the break before substitutes Marouane Chamakh and Carlos Vela added second-half goals.

The Gunners are still yet to concede in their pre-season campaign so far.

Arsenal’s Starting XI

Almunia
Nordtveit – Djourou – Koscielny – Gibbs
Wilshere – Frimpong – Nasri
Walcott – Emmanuel-Thomas – Arshavin

Read the rest of this entry »

A double from Samir Nasri and a goal from Henri Lansbury gave Arsenal acomfortable 3-0 win over Austrian side Sturm Graz at the UPC Arena.

French midfield maestro Nasri struck twice in the first half to put Arsenal in control before highly-rated youngster Henri Lansbury added a deserved gloss to the scoreline with a well-taken goal after the break.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger gave Marouane Chamakh his first start in Arsenal colours, the Moroccan having been introduced from the bench in the Gunners’ opening pre-season friendly against Barnet at the weekend.

Arsenal’s Starting XI & Subs

Fabianski
Nordtveit – Djourou – Vermaelen (c) – Traore
Wilshere – Frimpong – Nasri
Walcott – Chamakh – Arshavin

Subs: Szczesny (GK), Koscielny, Gibbs, Eastmond, Lansbury, Rosicky, Emmanuel-Thomas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Arsenal strolled to a 4-0 win over fellow North Londoners Barnet in the Gunners’ traditional campaign curtain raiser at Underhill.

Fresh from his summer break, Andrey Arshavin opened the scoring after just 90 seconds before Jay Simpson added a brace to send Arsenal three goals to the good at the break.

Second-half substitute Samir Nasri completed the scoring in the 75th minute as the Gunners enjoyed a comfortable start to their preparations for the new Premier League season.

Arsenal’s Starting XI & Subs

Fabianski
Nordtveit – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Traore
Wilshere – Frimpong – Emmanuel-Thomas
Arshavin – Simpson – Rosicky

Subs: Szczesny, Mannone, Miquel, Djourou, Gibbs, Eastmond, Nasri, Henderson, Lansbury, Barazite, Walcott, Chamakh.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wigan scored three goals in the final ten minutes to come back from 2-0 down to beat Arsenal 3-2.

The Gunners appeared to be coasting to victory on the back of goals either side of half time from Theo Walcott and Mikael Silvestre, and with it hauling themselves to within three points of leaders Chelsea.

But after a run of eight defeats and a draw in the Premier League against Arsenal, Wigan added to their debut wins over Chelsea and Liverpool this season as Ben Watson, Titus Bramble and Charles N’Zogbia conjured an astonishing comeback — ending Arsenal’s slim title hopes in the process.

Arsenal’s Starting XI & Subs:

Fabianski
Sagna – Campbell – Silvestre – Clichy
Nasri – Eastmond – Diaby
Walcott – Bendtner – Rosicky

Subs: Mannone, Traore, Eboue, Merida, Henderson, Vela, Van Persie

Read the rest of this entry »