IN the end the 80,000 strong crowd couldn’t have asked for anything more - Alexandre Lacazette scoring on his debut as Arsenal beat Sydney FC 2-0 at ANZ Stadium.
The match had a bit of everything. A freak Per Mertesacker goal to open the scoring, a missed penalty from Danny Welbeck and a man-of-the-match performance from Sydney’s Arsenal-loving goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
But all of that was almost forgotten when Lacazette, Arsenal’s $88 million French striker, scored the goal that everyone had been waiting for in the 83th minute. He had said before the game his aim was to repay the record fee Arsenal paid for him in goals, and it took him just 15 minutes to open his account.
So the fans left happy, but both Arsene Wenger and Graham Arnold will know that there is still quite a bit more work to be done before their respective seasons start.
Arsenal brought their stadium announcer from the Emirates and the club’s famous mascot Gunnersaurus to add a touch of authenticity to the occasion. And it’s been that kind of attention to the small details that has set this tour apart from the ones that have preceded it. The Arsenal players have held coaching clinics, made several appearances and have been accessible to the media.
On the field, Wenger had promised a lively performance and his team delivered on that. There was an urgency to their attack, led mainly by the club’s two 17-year-old’s, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock. Making their debuts for Arsenal, the two youngsters toyed with Sydney’s defence at times and look fine prospects for the club.
But the opening goal, in the fourth minute, came through an unlikely source and in the most unlikeliest of ways. Towering German defender Per Mertesacker hooked the ball over his shoulder and into the net after the Sky Blues failed to deal with Mesut Ozil’s corner.
It was really all Arsenal from there with Sydney barely touching the ball outside of their own half. Chances fell to Danny Welbeck, Cohen Bramall, Nelson and Reiss but Andrew Redmayne was up to the task. Playing against the club he supports and the club he had a two week trial at, Redmayne pulled off more than a few notable saves, including one to deny Willock at point blank range after the Arsenal man strolled through Sydney’s defence
There was also desperate defending from Seb Ryall to thwart Welbeck’s attempt, thought the Arsenal striker, only just returning from a long injury lay off, probably should have done better.
But two of the loudest cheers of the first half came when record signing Alexandre Lacazette began his warm up in the corner, and when Matt Simon came within inches of equalising for Sydney. The tall striker didn’t score a single goal last season, but hit the post with a follow up shot after Josh Brillante’s initial attempt was parried by Petr Cech.
Much came the way in creating chances, but Arsenal couldn’t capitalise. Sound familiar, Arsenal fans? It might have been for that reason that the loudest chant from the fans was to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench: “We want you to stay!”, in reference to reports linking him with a move to Liverpool.
There was a comedy of errors to begin the second half. Charles Lokolingoy’s back pass left Redmayne stranded, Theo Walcott jumped at the loose ball and his shot was saved on the line by Ryall. It was a super save, only the referee adjudged it a hand ball and awarded Arsenal a penalty. Replays – on the stadium screen – showed the ball hit Ryall in the back, nowhere near his hands. But the decision stood and Welbeck stepped up to take the penalty, only to have it saved by Redmayne.
As Sydney started to grab a foothold on the game, Wenger hauled off virtually the entire team and brought on every one of his substites, which of course meant Lacazette ran onto the ANZ Stadium to make his Arsenal debut, and mark it with a goal.
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