Arsenal Qualify for the Champions League - 1st Leg

Theo Walcott's fouth minute goal was enough to give Arsenal victory in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie with Italian side Udinese at the Emirates. This was Arsenal's first game without Cesc Fabregas as he had now joined Barcelona. Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri were both banned for the match after serving a suspension picked up in last years Champions League. However Gervinho was allowed to play after being sent off at the weekend against Newcastle as the ban was not carried over into UEFA competitions, just FA competitions. Song was also allowed to play after being charged for the stamp on Joey Batron, also against Newcastle at the weekend. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was serving a touch line ban and had to sit in the stands. Jenkinson, Frimpong and Oxlade-Chamberlain were all on the bench. As Van Persie was suspended Thomas Vermaelen captained the side.

Walcott celebrates his goal

On just four minutes Arsenal took the lead. Sagna played Ramsey down the right who got forward and delivered the ball into the six yard box. Walcott was there to fire the ball into the back of the net to give Arsenal an early and important lead in the tie.

Udinese's first chance of the game fell to the Italian league's top scorer last season, Antonio Di Natale, as he saw his freekick beat Szczesny and then smash against the bar and come back out again.

Udinese again had a great chance to equalise as Armero broke from inside his own half and got through two Arsenal defenders before racing into the box. He then hit a shot straight at Szczesny who palmed away the ball but the rebound dropped to Isla but Song was in the way to block the attempt on goal.

The score at half time remained 1-0 despite Udinese's dominance. Johan Djourou was forced to come on at the break for the injured Kieran Gibbs, Vermaelen was pushed out to left back and Djourou came straight in at centre back.

The first chance of the second half fell to the visitors as Armero found Di Natale in the box but Djourou slid in to make the challenge on the Italian and blocked his shot.

Johan Djourou, the half time substitute then got injured and was forced to come off as Carl Jenkinson came on in his place. Vermaelen then went back into the centre of defence with Jenkinson playing at left back.

Then the visitors grabbed another chance on the hour mark as Isla out muscled Jenkinson down the right before firing a shot towards the far post but again Szczesny was there to save the shot.

Ramsey gets away from Asamoah

The Italian sides next chance fell to Armero as a corner was headed out of the box towards him, as it came to him he drove a shot towards the Arsenal goal but the ball went over the crossbar.

Arsenal then finally managed to create themselves a chance as Ramsey played Walcott through, who got a shot on goal but it was a scuffed shot and the ball fell kindly into the hands of Handanovic in the Udinese goal.

Di Natale then tested Szczesny with a free kick just as he had done in the first half as he curled a free-kick around the wall which Szczesny dived to his left to save the shot.

In the very last minute of the match Gervinho put the ball through to Walcott who from 8 yards out placed a shot towards the bottom corner but for Handanovic who made a brilliant save to keep the tie at 1-0 to Arsenal.

The final score finished Arsenal 1-0 Udinese.

The teams lineups: 

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs(45), Song, Rosicky(73), Ramsey, Walcott, Gervinho, Chamakh. 
Subs: Fabianski, Djourou(45)(55), Jenkinson(55), Frimpong(73), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin, Bendtner.

Udinese: Handanovic, Ekstrand, Benatia, Danilo, Neuton(60), Badu, Isla, Asamoah, Pinzi(88), Armero, Di Natale.
Subs: Belardo, Denis, Vydra, Abdi(88), Pasquale(60), Doubai, Fabbrini.

My man of the match: Wojiech Szczsesny

Referee: Kevin Blom

Attendance: 58,159

Frimpong sees red as Arsenal lose to late goals

Samir Nasri - Still at the club

Arsenal's first home game of the season started without Cesc Fabregas, as he completed his move to Barcelona in the week, but it did start with Samir Nasri as he looked to be moving away from the club. He did play in the game but Arsenal lost 2-0 as Arsenal suffered their second suspension in as many weeks as Frimpong was sent off. Arsenal were far from full strength as Sagna had to play at left back due to the injuries to Gibbs and Traore which meant young Carl Jenkinson made his Premier league debut at right back. Frimpong came in for the suspended Song and Miquel, Miyaichi and Lansbury were all on the bench to complete a very young lineup for the Gunners.

 The only real point of the first half was Frimpong as he was shown a yellow card for squaring up to Jordan Henderson unnecessarilly for thinking that it was an Arsenal throw in instead of a Liverpool one. The only real point because again Arsenal were involved in a game with not many chances.


Arsenal's first good chance however came in the second half as Arshavin shrugged off a defender before finding Van Persie on the six yard box who could only find Reina who tipped the ball around the post.

Frimpong gets his first yellow card

Liverpool then created themselves a great chance as Adam found Carroll who then layed the ball back to Kelly but Szczesny was there to tip the ball behind for a corner.

Arsenal were then reduced to 10 men as Frimpong caught Lucas on the shin after the ball had gone and out came the red card for the second game running.

Suarez and Meireles then came on and that changed the rest of the game.

The two substitutes combined for the first goal with 12 minutes left as Suarez found himself in the box but Miquel managed to get the ball but cleared the ball straight into the face of Ramsey. The ball then looped over Szczesny and into the back of the net.

In the dying moments of the game Liverpool made it 2-0 through Suarez. Adam finding Meireles in the box who slipped the ball past the oncoming Szczesny into the path of Suarez who fired into an empty Arsenal net.

The final score finished Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool.
  
The teams lineups: 

Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny(16), Vermaelen, Sagna, Walcott(80), Arshavin(72), Nasri, Ramsey, Frimpong, Van Persie.
Subs: Fabianski, Miquel(16), Henri Lansbury(72), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Miyaichi, Chamakh, Bendtner(80).

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Downing, Adam, Henderson, Lucas, Carroll(71), Kuyt(71).
Subs: Doni, Skrtel, Flanagan, Spearing, Maxi, Meireles(71), Suarez(71).

My man of the match: Thomas Vermaelen


Referee: Martin Atkinson

Attendance: 60,090         

Tempers flow in season opener

In a game of not many chances Arsenal drew 0-0 with Newcastle in their season opener but the game was overshadowed by Gervinho's red card towards the end of the game, as things got ugly at St James' Park last Saturday. Arsene Wenger was forced to play an understrength team as Fabregas was nearing a move to Barcelona, Nasri not in the right mind to play and Wilshere out injured. New signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was on the bench and Gervinho made his competitive debut for the club.

Gervinho and Taylor challenge for the ball

The first good chance of the game fell to Rosicky as Ramsey found him on the edge of the box but he could only side foot his chance just wide of the goal.

The next chance fell to the new skipper, Robin Van Persie. Gervinho put the ball in which Taylor could only clear into the body of Coloccini. The ball then found its way to Van Persie as he saw his deflected shot bounce just wide of Tim Krul in the Newcastle goal.

Arsenal were dominating the early parts of the game and they had a great chance to take the lead as Rosicky's corner was met by the head of Koscielny but the ball was cleared off the line.

Gervinho is sent off for a slap on Barton

The first chance of the second half once again fell to the Gunners. Van Persie curling in a free kick from the edge of the box but the ball went just over the bar.

Then the first controversial thing of the match happened as Barton and Song tussled for possession of the ball before Barton went down. Song then stamped on Barton but the referee did not see anything and Song was not punished.

Walcott then almost gave the visitors the lead as he got into the box and got past his man before hitting a shot straight at Krul.

Towards the end of the game the moment happened that overshadowed the whole match. Gervinho cut inside and then appeared to have dived but was actually clipped in the penalty area. The referee did not give a penalty, However as the referee turned his back Barton picked up Gervinho and most of the players got involved in a scrap. Gervinho then slapped Barton in the face and was sent off for his troubles. Joey Barton was only cautioned for his part in the brawl.

The final score ended Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal.

The teams lineups:

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Gibbs, Song, Rosicky(84), Ramsey(90), Arshavin(60), Gervinho, Van Persie.
Subs: Fabianski, Djourou(90), Jenkinson, Frimpong(84), Walcott(60), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chamakh.

Newcastle: Krul, S. Taylor, Coloccini, R. Taylor, Simpson, Barton, Cabaye(76), Tiote, Gutierrez, Ameobi(70), Ba(46).
Subs: Forster, Williamson, Gosling, Obertan(46), Sammy Ameobi, Lovenkrands(76), Best(70).

Referee: Peter Walton
Attendance: 46,894

Arsenal slip up in final game of pre-season

Arsenal have now finished all their pre-season matches and we are now a step closer to knowing what the starting XI will be for our first competitive match of the season as we play Newcastle next week at St James' Park. Arsenal finished their pre-season with a 2-1 loss at the hands of Portuguese side Benfica. Arsenal were missing some key men for the trip including Fabregas, Nasri and Wilshere but managed to cope well and dominated the game in the first half. However the second half was different as Wenger made changes and Benfica then managed to keep the ball well and managed to bring the game back into their hands.

Early on in the game Benfica had a claim for a penalty turned down after Szczesny brought down Jara in the box.

Arsenal's first good chance of the game fell to Gervinho who got into the box but he could only manage to find the side netting.

Half an hour into the game Arsenal's good work almost paid off as Van Persie found space in the box and chipped the ball over the oncoming Eduardo in the Benfica goal but the shot just bounced wide.

3 minutes later Arsenal took the lead through some great work down the left hand side. Arshavin found Gibbs who put the ball into the box for Van Persie to find the back of the net from 6 yards out.

5 minutes into the second half Benfica grabbed an equaliser through half time substitute Pablo Aimar who turned Vermaelen and fired past Fabianski and into the back of the net.

Benfica started to dominate and then finally they grabbed what proved to be the winner on 60 minutes as Nolito came inside and curled a shot beyond Fabianski who had had a rough time in goal since coming on as a half time sub.

It was not all bad for Fabianski as late on he made some good saves including one from long range off the boot of Gaitan.

Arsenal: Szczesny(45), Sagna(45), Vermaelen(85), Djourou(45), Gibbs(56), Rosicky(65), Ramsey, Song(45), Arshavin(45), Gervinho, Van Persie(45).
Subs: Fabianski(45), Squillaci(45), Miguel(85), Jenkinson(45), Traore(56), Frimpong(45), Lansbury(65), Miyaichi(45), Chamakh(45).

Benfica 1st Half: Eduardo, Emerson, Luisao, Garay, Amorim, Garcia, Cesar, Matic, Perez, Jara, Cardozo.
Benfica 2nd Half: Artur, Faria, Capdevilla, Pinto, Garay, Gaitan, Aimar, Nolito, Witsel, Simao, Saviola.

Referee: M Rebelo
Attendance: 40,883

NOTICE FOR READERS: Match reports of games against Newcastle and Liverpool in the Premiership will be delayed. The match report of the first leg of the champions league tie against Udinese will also be delayed due to me being on holiday for 2 weeks.

Red Bulls triumph in pre-season Emirates Cup

This years Emirates Cup saw Arsenal invite French side, Paris St Germain, American side, New York Red Bulls and Argentinian side, Boca Juniors to play in their annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal were trying to defend their title which they have won 3 times at their home ground, whilst PSG where trying to win the cup at the third attempt having played in the 2007, 2009 and now the 2011 Emirates Cup.

Saturday:
PSG 0-1 New York Red Bulls
The first day of the tournament saw the youngest team in the competition; New York Red Bulls taking on Paris Saint Germain. Thierry Henry however did not play for the Red Bulls as he was being saved for the second day of the competition. The only goal of the game came from Estonian forward Joel Lindpere as he was allowed to run clean through on goal and hit a left footed shot past Sirigu in the PSG goal.

Arsenal 2-2 Boca Juniors
The main attraction of the day however was Arsenal as they faced Boca Juniors. The Gunners went two goals up thanks to a tap in from Robin Van Persie after Gervinho had crossed from the left and the second after Vela had got past two players before finding Ramsey who smashed the ball into the back of the net. The Argentinian side came back to level the game up though with goals from Viatri and Mouche. That result meant New York Red Bulls would sit top of the table after day 1.


Sunday:
PSG 3-0 Boca Juniors
Day 2 of the competition saw PSG take on Boca Juniors. Paris Saint Germain having lost, knew they could not win the tourament but still gave the game 100% as they ran out winners by three goals to nil. Their Argentinian opposition who had they won would have had a strong chance of taking the trophey back to South America. The goals came from Maurice who scored on 8 minutes from a corner, a Hoarau header from 8 yards out and the last goal was scored by Ceara from a freekick outside the box.

Arsenal 1-1 New York Red Bulls

The final match of the tournament was between
Arsenal and the American side New York Red Bulls. The major talking point before the game however was Thierry Henry, who returned to the Emirates and was in the side to face the club that he spent 8 years at. In the match youngsters Benik Afobe and Kyle Bartley came on to make their senior debuts for Arsenal. Arsenal knew if they won that they would lift the trophey for the 4th time but it was not be, as Van Persie's first half header from a Rosicky free kick was not enough. As in the last 10 minutes a ball into the box rebounded off Bartely and into the back of the net to seal the Emirates Cup for the New York Red Bulls who finished with 4 points for the tournament.

	Final Points Table: Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	New York Red Bulls	2	1	1	0	2	1	4
2.	Paris Saint-Germain	2	1	0	1	3	1	3
3.	Arsenal	2	0	2	0	3	3	2
4.	Boca Juniors	2	0	1	1	2	5	1

Gervinho scores on debut in Germany

Gervinho scored twice on his Arsenal debut as the Gunners beat Cologne in Germany 2-1 last Saturday afternoon. However a freak own goal from Carl Jenkinson meant that Arsenal were not able to keep a clean sheet. More players went to Germany than on the whole of the Asia Tour, so to play all of the players Arsene Wenger had 3 players which were substituted again after coming on.



With basically Gervinho's first touch of the ball he scored on 7 minutes. Wilshere played the ball through to Gervinho who chipped the ball over the oncoming Cologne goalkeeper for 1-0 to Arsenal.

Cologne's first chance fell to Podolski after Novakovic found him but he could only drag his shot wide of Szczesny's goal.

7 minutes after their first goal Arsenal doubled their lead and it was Gervinho who had scored again. Wilshere found Walcott who got into the box and slid the ball into the Ivorian who could not miss as he made it 2-0.

However Gervinho had to be substituted after just 29 minutes because of the clash he had had with the goalkeeper during his second goal.

On the stroke of half time it was 2-1 as a long ball was played forward from a Cologne player but Jenkinson scuffed his clearance and the ball looped over Szczesny and into the back of the net.

In the last 10 minutes of the game Arsenal had a chance to make it 3-1 as Frimpong won the ball back in the middle of the park and played Arshavin in but his shot was saved by Varvodic in the Cologne goal.

Arsenal 1st half: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Walcott, Ramsey, Song, Wilshere, Gervinho(from 29 Miyaichi), Van Persie.
Arsenal 2nd half: Mannone(from 69 Fabianski), Sagna, Squillaci, Djourou, Henderson(from 70-89 then Afobe), Frimpong, Rosicky, Nasri, Arshavin, Vela, Van Persie.

Cologne: Rensing(16), Brecko, Mohamad(87), Riether, Podolski, Novakovic(83), Andrezinho(63), Lanig(63), Jajalo(84), Chihi(63), Geromel.
Subs: Varvodic(16), Eichner(63), Pezzoni(63), Peszko(63), Makino(87), Clemens(83), Roshi(84).

Referee: Christian Fischer
Attendance: 41,500

Arsenal finish Asia tour with a draw

Arsenal finished off their pre-season Asia Tour with a 1-1 draw on Saturday with Chinese side Hangzhou Greentown in front of 20,000 fans packed into the Meihu Stadium. Carlos Vela's equaliser was the only goal for Arsenal despite them having numerous occasions to get the victory. Arsene Wenger once again fielded two sides in each half. Arsenal showed off their new home kit for the first time. The players were also wearing Chinese spellings of their surnames on the back of their shirts to mark the occasion of playing in China.

The first clear cut chance of the match fell to Greentown forward Pazzolano who got past Squillaci and hit a shot past Mannone and onto the inside of the post. The ball then came back out but Sagna was there to stop Pazzolano from having another chance to score.

2 minutes later on fifteen minutes Hangzhou took the lead through Vazquez. The ball was whipped in from the free kick which took a deflection and bounced straight off Mannone into the path of Vazquez who smashed the ball into the back of the net for 1-0 to Greentown.

Just before the break Carlos Vela grabbed an equaliser with a simple goal from 2 yards out to score his second goal in as many matches for the Gunners. Van Persie and Arshavin played a nice one-two before the dutch striker struck a shot which came off the goalkeeper and fell straight into the path of Vela who could not miss.

Arsenal in the second half became much more livelier as they began to create more chances. One of those chances fell to Gibbs who linked up well with Miyaichi before unleashing a shot across the face of the goal but the Hangzhou goalkeeper Jiang Bo made the save the keep the score level.

Arsenal then had two great efforts to win the game denied. Chamakh found Ramsey on the edge of the box who then found Walcott inside the area but his shot was blocked. The ball then came back to Walcott but he put his next shot over the bar.

Arsenal First Half: Mannone, Sagna, Djourou, Squillaci, Traore, Rosicky, Frimpong, Nasri, Arshavin, Vela, Van Persie.

Arsenal Second Half: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Song, Wilshere, Ramsey, Walcott, Miyaichi, Chamakh.

Arsenal will now travel back to England and then fly out to Germany to play Cologne next Saturday afternoon in a game which could see recently signed Ivorian forward Gervinho make his debut for the club.