Arsenal Draws 1-1 Against Szombathelyi Haladas in Pre-Season Friendly
July 22nd 2008 23:51
I was lucky enough to catch Arsenal's second pre-season game today as it preceded Manchester United's third friendly of the pre-season, and was happy to see that although the Gunners have lost important players this summer, they still have plenty of youngsters waiting to shine. Against Hungarian team Szombathelyi Haladas, Arsène Wenger deployed a young starting eleven filled with reserve players and a handful of regular starters. In goal, veteran Manuel Almunia was assigned to start the game since the defenders in front of him couldn't be considered as a solid backline with reserves brothers Gavin and Justin Hoyte playing center defense, Bacary Sagna on the right flank, and fellow countryman Gaël Clichy on the left. Youngsters Denilson and Aaron Ramsey played in center midfield while Academy player Jack Wilshere patrolled the left wing and Theo Walcott the right. Up front, newcomer Carlos Vela made his first appearance in Arsenal's shirt alongside regular Nicklas Bendtner.
With a great array of technical skills and youth on their side, Arsenal were the most dangerous team during the first half. With Clichy and Sagna constantly overlapping, they were able to find holes in their opponent's defense but the final ball often left a lot to be desired. When the crosses did reach the forwards, mistakes due to inexperience (such as Vela chesting the ball when he had the perfect opportunity to use his head, and Hoyte volleying the ball high into the stands when all that was required was a side-foot shot/pass to put the ball in an empty net) prevented them from getting on the scoresheet. Inexperience also manifested itself at the backline where the Hoyte brothers failed to communicate and often let an opposing player slip between them. Fortunately for them, Sagna was always there to rectify the situation until the 24th minute when striker Krisztian Kenesei benefited from Arsenal's poor defensive coverage to put his team ahead 1-0. It took a defensive mistake from the Hungarian team for the Gunners to equalize at the 42nd minute. As Brendtner received a pass from Clichy, Szombathelyi's left-back completely forgot Walcott on the wing and left his spot to pressure Brendtner. The Danish striker simply passed the ball in the hole left by the defender and Walcott instinctively struck the ball to the second post where it entered the net after bouncing off the post.
Wenger made four changes at halftime, replacing Almunia, Gavin Hoyte, Ramsay and Vela by Vito Mannone, Armand Traoré, Henri Lansbury, and Mark Randall. Those changes also brought some movement among players already on the field as Walcott was pushed up front alongside Brendtner while Sagna and Justin Hoyte switched positions. The second half was mostly marked by bad passing on both teams' part while Arsenal's crosses were downright awful as they constantly got intercepted by opposing defenders. Fatigue slowly started to manifest itself as players simply stopped running once they lost the ball. Jay Simpson and Francis Coquelin's entrance in place of Wilshere and Brendtner at the 62nd minute didn't bring anything new to the table and the game ended in a draw.
My man of the match: Jack Wilshere. The 16-year-old was superb, showing some nice skills and speed reminiscent of Chelsea's Joe Cole and a good chemistry with Clichy.
With a great array of technical skills and youth on their side, Arsenal were the most dangerous team during the first half. With Clichy and Sagna constantly overlapping, they were able to find holes in their opponent's defense but the final ball often left a lot to be desired. When the crosses did reach the forwards, mistakes due to inexperience (such as Vela chesting the ball when he had the perfect opportunity to use his head, and Hoyte volleying the ball high into the stands when all that was required was a side-foot shot/pass to put the ball in an empty net) prevented them from getting on the scoresheet. Inexperience also manifested itself at the backline where the Hoyte brothers failed to communicate and often let an opposing player slip between them. Fortunately for them, Sagna was always there to rectify the situation until the 24th minute when striker Krisztian Kenesei benefited from Arsenal's poor defensive coverage to put his team ahead 1-0. It took a defensive mistake from the Hungarian team for the Gunners to equalize at the 42nd minute. As Brendtner received a pass from Clichy, Szombathelyi's left-back completely forgot Walcott on the wing and left his spot to pressure Brendtner. The Danish striker simply passed the ball in the hole left by the defender and Walcott instinctively struck the ball to the second post where it entered the net after bouncing off the post.
Wenger made four changes at halftime, replacing Almunia, Gavin Hoyte, Ramsay and Vela by Vito Mannone, Armand Traoré, Henri Lansbury, and Mark Randall. Those changes also brought some movement among players already on the field as Walcott was pushed up front alongside Brendtner while Sagna and Justin Hoyte switched positions. The second half was mostly marked by bad passing on both teams' part while Arsenal's crosses were downright awful as they constantly got intercepted by opposing defenders. Fatigue slowly started to manifest itself as players simply stopped running once they lost the ball. Jay Simpson and Francis Coquelin's entrance in place of Wilshere and Brendtner at the 62nd minute didn't bring anything new to the table and the game ended in a draw.
My man of the match: Jack Wilshere. The 16-year-old was superb, showing some nice skills and speed reminiscent of Chelsea's Joe Cole and a good chemistry with Clichy.
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