adminTwo bad decisions and with them Arsenal lost the Emirates Cup. For one, they could whine at Martin Atkinson, the referee who in an apparent moment of pre-season complacency denied them a clear penalty.
For the other, they can only look at themselves for reasons why a £53million striker was left unmarked at a set-piece.
Radamel Falcao rarely needs help in front of goal, but considering his first-half header was his first goal since his knee injury in January, the Monaco striker probably won’t mind.
The goal gave Valencia the branded trinket, their 3-1 win over Benfica earlier in the day making the difference, along with Atkinson’s highly questionable call in the second half of Arsenal’s match. Chuba Akpom had raced clear with 10 minutes still to play when Monaco keeper Danijel Subasic raced off his line and clattered him.
Akpom was possibly offside when he made his run, but was certainly inside the area when the foul occurred. Atkinson gave a yellow card and a free-kick after advice from his assistant; strange calls even for summer football.
Not that it matters, especially.
This, like all pre-season matches, was about learning. In that context, Arsene Wenger offered what looked like a significant clue concerning the line-up of his side for the Community Shield against Manchester City, with left back Kieran Gibbs perhaps the only player to come in.
Arsenal handed a start to £10m signing Mathieu Debuchy at right back, indicating again that Calum Chambers is being groomed for a role at centre-half. The pair of them, £22m worth of recruitments, were solid, particularly the latter.
Chambers impressed with his tackling and positioning, even if he did balloon one of Arsenal’s best early chances over the bar from a Santi Cazorla corner. — Mail Online
Online Reporter