George Boxall, reporting from Emirates Stadium, London
Emirates Cup Final, 11/08/2024
It was a huge pre-season test for Pierre Sage’s men at the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal fielding a strong XI that has dominated the Premier League in recent years. The quality showed from the first minute, as the Gunners dominated the ball and logically opened the scoring within the first ten minutes via William Saliba. Declan Rice provided a superb delivery for the France international to rise highest and head home for the hosts.
The Premier League runners-up held the ball for much of the first half, with Saka and Martinelli getting close to doubling the lead. Arsenal have made set-pieces a huge part of their offensive play, and it was clearly hurting Sage’s side as they managed to double their lead via another header from a corner – this time from Saliba’s defensive partner Gabriel.
With a two-goal deficit, Sage began to instruct his players to play with a bit more freedom during the first-half water break. It almost paid-off right away, with Benrahma and Mikautadze combining well down the left side and Tolisso letting off a strike which was cleared to the feet of Martinelli – who bore one on one with Perri. Yet Niakhaté would steal away the chance with a brilliant sliding challenge. OL living dangerously. Maitland-Niles was freed down the left and fizzed a lovely driven cross which had to be diverted by Saliba, Mikautadze couldn’t quite get on the end of it.
An improved second half for Les Gones
The second half would come, and so would another chance for Mikautadze on the swivel, but his strike was blasted over the bar. It marked a more positive period for OL, which saw Les Gones hold more of the ball.
Yet the danger wasn’t over: Perri saved well to flick Saka’s header onto the post, before Thomas Partey’s strike went wide. Saïd Benrahma would try his luck from afar, and his strike went a few inches above Raya’s bar. The changes would ring for Les Gones, as Gift Orban, Moussa Diawara, Mama Baldé and Ernest Nuamah came on.
Baldé would do well to inject some pace into the game and his winding run down the right would see him storm into the box, yet his final ball across couldn’t find a black OL shirt. New faces seemed to inject new life for Les Gones, who managed to temporarily nullify Arsenal’s threat. Ernest Nuamah would get the best chance to score one on one with David Raya, but the Ghanian’s chip was saved instinctively by the Spanish goalkeeper.
With the tone of the game dying down at the end of the match, the final whistle would blow as focus switches to an away trip to Rennes next Sunday for Les Gones.
GFFN | George Boxall
