Result: Arsenal 5-1 PSG
Competition: International Champions Cup (pre-season)
Date: July 28th 2018
Venue: Singapore Sports Hub
Arsenal scored four second half goals against a very young PSG side in Singapore to run out 5-1 winners in the final game of the tour. Goals from Mesut Ozil, Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding and two for Alexandre Lacazette saw off the Ligue 1 champions who were without a host of their first team stars.
Arsenal starting XI
Leno, Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Guendouzi, Elneny, Ozil (c), Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Aubameyang
1′ – that kit
It’s our first look at the third kit. I think the word insipid springs to mind. It also looks like a very heavy pitch.
3′ – Commentator hilarity
Haha, Premier Sports commentator says Guendouzi might be useful as he could inform Unai Emery about some of the young players at PSG. Forgetting, of course, where Emery was manager before Arsenal.
8′ – High press
It’s what everyone is expecting from Arsenal this season, but this young PSG side are the ones doing most of the pressing, giving the Gunners no time to dwell on the ball in their own half.
9′ – First attempt
It comes from PSG, a shot from the right hand side of our box curls wide, Leno looked like he had it covered.
12′ – Ooooh
Arsenal take a short corner from our right, Ozil whips it in and Mustafi’s header flies beyond the far post.
14′ – ⚽ Goooooal Arsenal! 1-0
Aubameyang got down the right hand side with real pace after a good pass from Mkhitaryan, he crossed it to the back post, and Ozil was there to slot it home first time with his right foot. Nice move, and a goal somewhat against the run of play so far.
18′ – Referee!
Ozil wants a penalty, having been clattered from behind in the box, but the official plays on.
23′ – Oooooooh!
Lovely passing again from Arsenal sends Iwobi down the inside left channel, he drives into box and has a pop but Buffon makes a good save. From the corner, Bellerin has a pop from distance which crashes into a crowd of defenders. Then Arsenal have the ball in the net but Mkhitaryan is wrongly given offside in the build-up.
26′ – Just wide
PSG have another pop via Toufiqui, again Leno looks to have it covered but it fizzes just wide of his far post.
29′ – What a save
Huge save from Buffon as Aubameyang looked like he was going to make it 2-0. He took down an inch-perfect long pass from Guendouzi, cut inside the defender and shot with his left foot, but the vastly experienced keeper stood up well and made a great stop.
34′ – Hey Leno
Ozil very careless with a step-over inside our final third which presented the ball to PSG, Weah smashed a shot on target but the Arsenal keeper was more than equal to it, parrying the ball away. The French side aren’t creating much as it is, so presenting them a chance like that was unnecessary.
39′ – No Weah through
PSG work it down the right hand side, there’s a low cross to the near post, Weah tries a flick and there’s just enough there from the Arsenal defence to see it out without troubling Leno. That’s followed a few minutes later by an effort from Nkunku which goes over the bar.
44′ – Another Buffon save
This time it’s from Mkhitaryan, again the build-up from Arsenal is good, finding the Armenian in a very good position on the edge of the box, but after a good touch and then cutting inside the defender he fired his shot straight at the Italian.
45 +1′ – Mustafi wide
From a free kick out on our right, Mustafi climbs highest but heads wide when he really should have hit the target. The referee’s whistle goes and Arsenal take the lead into the break.
Half-time: Arsenal 1-0 PSG
On the basis of the chances created, it’s a deserved lead for the Gunners but it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest they’ve been wasteful at times. More efficiency with their finishing would see them in a much more comfortable position at this point, and that’s something that plagued us in the past. Perhaps something for the new boss to focus on as he continues to work with his players.
Emery made three changes the break as Emi Martinez, Aaron Ramsey, and Lacazette replaced Leno, Iwobi and Elneny.
51′ – Save Martinez!
From a PSG free kick, the Arsenal keeper flies across his goal to get a good hand on a goalbound effort. Arsenal clear and break and then:
52′ – Yellow card Lassana Diarra
Aubameyang chopped down by the former Arsenal man, referee issues the card.
55′ – Chance PSG
Sokratis poor as the ball is played over the top, Weah shoots for the near post, Martinez blocks it out for a corner. From there, Rabiot wins a header which Guendouzi clears.
59′ – Penalty PSG
Kolasinac outdone by the pace of Weah, went to ground, as clear a spot-kick as you’ll see. It was poor defending from a player who must be tired having played the full 90 on Thursday too, which isn’t to excuse the bad defending.
60′ – ⚽ Goal PSG. 1-1
Nkunku steps up to take the penalty, calmly slots home as Martinez dives the other way.
63′ – Last ditch
Great defending from Bellerin at the near post as PSG again threaten from the right via Weah. Mustafi was nowhere near the man, the cross came in but the full back did well to clear.
64′ – Changes
Off: Mustafi, Sokratis, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Ozil
On: Smith Rowe, Nelson, Holding, Chambers, Nketiah
67′ – ⚽ GOOOOAALLL Arsenal! 2-1
Smith Rowe makes an immediate impact, taking the ball on the right side and curling in a cross to the near post. Lacazette’s touch isn’t the cleanest but it loops up and in under the bar on the far corner of Buffon’s goal.
69′ – Oooooh
Ramsey should do better, making a great run into the box but rather than shoot with his left foot, he pokes it with his right and it’s easy for Buffon.
73′ – ⚽ GOOOOAALLL Arsenal! 3-1
Arsenal kept the ball moving well from a corner, Kolasinac crossed the back post, Chambers headed back across goal, it fell for Lacazette who nodded it down and in, and although Nketiah was there to make sure, the ball had crossed the line before he got a touch.
74′ – Arsenal subs
Matteo Guendouzi comes off after a good display, replaced by Joe Willock while Ainsley Maitland-Niles comes on for Kolasinac.
78′ – block
Bellerin blocks a Weah shot after misjudging a header which presents the PSG forward with a chance to shoot.
81′ – Almost Eddie
Nketiah picks the ball up on the left, comes back from the byline, cuts inside two defenders and curls a shot towards the far corner but the keeper pushes it away to safety.
87′ – Ooooooooh!
Nelson should make it 4-1, but again Smith Rowe is involved. He plays Ramsey down the left, it comes to Lacazette who rolls it into the path of the young winger but his shot is saved by the feet of the keeper.
88′ ⚽ GOOOOOAALLL Arsenal! 4-1
From the corner, Rob Holding loops a great header up, up, up and over the keeper, it loops over him to add some icing to the Arsenal cake. What a finish!
90′ – Almost there
We’ll have 4 minutes of added time
90 + 3′ – ⚽ GOOOOAALLLL ARSENAL! 5-1.
Nelson rolls the ball through to Nektiah who takes it first time, and although the strike isn’t quite as solid as he’d like, the ball goes beyond the keeper and just inside the far post to make it 5-1.
Full-time. Arsenal 5-1 PSG
Overall a deserved win for the Gunners. You do have to take into account the youth of the PSG side, and the fact it’s pre-season, but nevertheless a useful work-out, and to add some finishing efficiency in the second half after being so wasteful in the first was nice to see. Enjoyable.
Next up, Chelsea in Dublin!
Oh boy did that seem tasty! Guendouzi looks more and more like the front man of a rock band that sells out stadiums! Aubameyang finally getting those enticing overhead supplies, Laca looking sharp today, Ozil showing his flare from the Madrid days with that goal, the defense was more organised today, all of our youngsters were brimming with confidence, feels as if someone has breathed a new life into the team! Can’t wait for the season to begin!
man you are a shit football observer if u saw guendouzi being only that !
Ah, but the rhetoric was aimed at drawing a parallelism between the quality of Guendouzi as a footballer and the aforementioned front man.
Plus he looks the part of a Rockstar with that hairdo and the self confidence. Kind of reminds me of the younger version of Chris Cornell
He didn’t say only that did he? It was obviously a joke you gimp.
Guendouzi lovingly admiring Ozil in the team pic makes for a good match report.
I’m ok with that for every match if it ends 5-1
Lol thumbs up if you actually scrolled up to check…
Not too shabby
We’ve got Özil..
Enjoyable… The youngsters giving the coach plenty to think about. Guendouzi looking more and more a first 11 player, very composed for his age frankly, can see why we got him.
Kolasinac should be doing more to stake a claim for a position, seems like there’s been little or no improvement there and Ramsey isn’t doing himself any favours in his contract negotiations with performances as these….. Too indecisive on the ball…. Needs to mature to be Frank if he wants Ozil level wages
Great game to watch. The youngsters all look so confident. Mkhi looked well off the pace though.
Guendouzi . I think he is going to give a tough time to Xhaka. He has all good attributes of Xhaka at such a young age plus athleticism.! Didn’t look panicked at any point of time!
Then there is Emile Smith Rowe. Kid is going to rule.!
To my surprise one of my work colleagues told me the other day that he knows his dad well. Showed me some training ground goals he’s sending him. One made my jaw drop… Think the Roberto Carlos free kick(you know the one), but much, much bendier, like impossibly so. Id never seen anything like it before.
The kid has genuine skills. Hope we can keep him grounded and injury free.
Hope I’m not breaking any rules posting a link, if so please remove… Here’s the goal.
https://www.planetfootball.com/videos/watch-arsenal-youngster-scores-outrageous-goal-u-23s/
Bend it like Emil.
Wow. There’s more curl on that than on Guendouzi’s head.
I’d love to see that too. Pls can you share with me on Facebook (timo.elikem). Thanks
Guendouzi was the standout for me.
Looks a real find doesn’t he! Very altjeltc and what a long range pass he has!
Does anyone else think Ramsey has hit the gym and bulked up a bit?
the canteen beside the gym?
Lol
Bahahahahha!
That Holding goal is the pick of the bunch.
he’s better than cannavaro
You know, I keep hearing this…
Up yours Neymar.
Yeah, I know, but still.
I’m no psychic but definitely those were Emery’s exact thoughts.
Lets go easy on Neymar…he can’t help being a drama queen who plays the contact sport of football for a living, rather than doing something more suited
to his effete nature.
😀 😀
We deserved the win vs the PSG lads. Even our lads looked better than theirs.
Meh.. that was only PSG!
Real question is can they beat stoke at the britannia on a rainy winter night?
Oh…
Remember the fucking orcs went down!! So who cares about Britannia. But I get your point. Cardiff on a wet night?
Could be tricky that one,yeap.They have the Orcish grandmaster in charge as well!
Hence the “Oh.” Sarcasm
Btw,anyone else caught the little jig on the bench by Ozil,Musti and Auba after the second Eddie goal? What was that all about? ?
Loved that tho!
Yes I did! Too cute! ❤️
Perhaps they want to form a boy band in their spare time!
You got a link for that? I may have missed it
It was using their elbows to form a ‘wave’
it’s on Mustafi’s Insta story now
Spot the difference?
Elneny, Iwobi, Gendouzi, Hector.
Sorry but this was too good to pass.
What a tasty game that was! But did the ICC cause Arseblog to crash lol? ?
That celebration of the fifth from Ozil, Auba and Mustafi was many lols.
Good to see a smile on Mesut’s face.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Nice performance overall, but the quality of the opposition was on the Boreham Wood level quite frankly.
Still, getting fit and trying out different tactical ideas out there is all that counts at this stage and its nice to see no one’s got injured so far.
I think you’ll find the correct response to today’s game is:
We’re winning the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A league and cup double you mean? Sorry. A league and cup treble…..silly me. A league title, league cup, FA Cup, Europa Cup AND THE ALL IMPORTANT…EMIRATES CUP! Booya!
Btw Happy 18th Birthday to Smith Rowe! ???
Tbh I like this name: Emile Smith Rowe
I can see only positives from that performance. Good stuff!
Just for info Lacca’s goals were changed to an og and Eddie.
Pre season or not, a quality player always stands out. The way Smith Roe whipped in that cross for Laca’s first goal,
I can understand the hype and comparisons to De Bruyne. The kid’s touch and delivery looks really special for his age !
Mesut ozil #M10 Class Act
Nice to see they kept hunting for more till the very final blow of the whistle. Only a preseason against a young side but there was definitely some talent on PSG’s side too. A win is always a good thing for those who earned it and for us fans too. Let’s hope they can carry this positivity into the new season and continue to show us the quality they have
Yes to put things in perspective, it was a very YOUNG PSG side.
BUT good win for us.
Still we should be under no delusion that we will be facing MUCH harder opposition and still plenty of work to do.
I.d say that was a pretty clean strike by Eddie
Much to like about Eddie. He’s also so physical.
Just came back from the game.
Our young kenny G is really really good.
He is hardworking, Elneny-hardworking, covering even the full backs and rampaging forward
And he can pass well too.
Like gullit and rijkaard rolled into one and keeping the hairstyle.
real talent we have there. Needs to bulk up a bit.
Auba’s first touch is pretty off and miki wasnt really imposing himself enough.
Bellerin is as usual, wayward crosses.
Its like some of these professionals dont spend their free time to really keep improving themselves…. sigh
Guendouzi is OK.
He should know the PSG academy well.
Still a lot to learn, needs to be more robust in the PL.
Elneny was superb
..against PSG’s youth team.
Elneny is always looking superb against second tier opposition in the league cup.
I used to think your posts were contrarian but thoughtful. Lately they just seem bitter. Though I suppose you view it as real talk.
Well that was fun! Lovely to see Mesut as captain, and enjoying himself. It’s so nice to see everyone looking happy and excited, and there seems to be a really good togetherness in the squad. Everyone seems committed to doing well and working for each other, and nice to see the young layers stepping up and the more senior players trusting and encouraging them. Great support from the fans and altogether a positive tour.
One of the best signings we’ve done and it was brought in by Wenger and Law. AGAIN, illustrates the lack of understanding many have as to how the transfer window really works. All this nonsene about us often signing late and improving this season. This season’s signings are mainly done early bc Torreira aside, none of the other players are high (would be) on the list of top teams. Ozil was very different. Wenger had to (reluctantly likely) drop his pursuit of Higuain bc he felt there was great opportunity to end of window. Likely much of the soft power… Read more »
Are you fatgooner in disguise by any chance?
There’s an awful lot of speculation and opinion in your post framed as fact, mate.
If you’re going to try and pose as an authority figure or an itk, it might be best to not have a clear bias in your presentation if you’d like to be taken seriously.
It’s a preseason match. We have a new manager and new tactical instruction- try not to go overboard with the agenda until we at least have one competitive match on the books.
Anyone noticed it was the junior players that turned the game around? We were level at 1-1 until the youngsters Rowe, Nketiah, Nelson, Chambers, Holding replaced Mustafi, Sokratis, Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Auba.
Tells you our first ix still harbour self doubt from Wenger era. Hope they get over it in time for our first league game.
i have two points to make, and apologies to anyone who may have made them previously as i haven’t read any other comments prior to posting: 1. our youth is fucking exciting. every year, we seem to have a few youth prospects that “may break through.” suddenly, it seems like there’s been a shift to “these guys are going to crush it,” and i’m excited for a lot of these guys (mavropanos, holding, guendouzi, nelson, nketiah, smith-rowe, etc.). name another team that has that many exciting youth prospects? the prof may not get credit for much, but let’s at least… Read more »
Can someone tell me why PSG starlets routed our team A players to get a penalty? Ironically, it was our own starlets that stopped the tide of their momentum. Ozil was blown away; Ramsy continued to slalome his way aimlessly. If I were Unai, I’ll wrought a revolution in that squad by playing Guendouzi alongside Torreira and Xhaka; Smith Rowe, wide right, he has De bruine movements; Nketia, wide left; and the pair of the much improved Chambers and Holden against City. Guendouzi made Rabbiot anonymous. We don’t need players that would enter that pitch with City’s resume already at… Read more »
You obviously wrote this report without this game in mind. You were just letting it be known that you hate 2 of our best players. Actually both played very well but that doesn’t fit your agenda
Your conclusion that I hate these two players is unfounded. I may give in, into that allegation as it concerns Ozil, but never on Ramsy; I have never criticized him. Ramsey may have fit into Wenger’s setup, but on both ICC games he seemed out of sorts in Unai’s ‘high pressing’. He held the balls for two long and truncating our attacks. The German FA did not have any right to treat Ozil that way. I mean being a five-time German footballer of the year contradicts the notion that he has been shit for a long time. But if all… Read more »