Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Chinese club Hangzhou Greentown earlier today. The match marked the end of the brief Asia tour, where the club received a ton of support. Carlos Vela again found the goal for the Gunners. Unfortunately, several problems arose at the back.
It was a fairly dull match in truth. Greentown got off to a great start, putting pressure on the young keeper Vito Mannone. Mannone succumbed to that pressure in the 15th minute. He mishandled an easy free kick, and Vazquez put home the rebound.
It was terrible mistake from the 23-year old keeper. The ball just hit him in the chest-to-neck area and bounced to Vazquez. Why Vito decided against catching the ball is anyone’s guess. Hopefully, we will not see this Italian in goal anytime soon.
Greentown continued to find space behind our defenders. The same problem was evident in the game against Malaysia XI. It could be a structural deficiency in the back. Maybe Wenger told them to hold too high of a line, and the centre-halves do not have the speed to press up that high.
Arsenal equalised right before the end of the first half. Andrey Arshavin lofted a brilliant pass to RVP. The Dutchman tried the shot but was denied by the keeper. The deflection was ushered into the net by Carlos Vela.
We dominated the second half but were unable to find the winning goal. Theo Walcott created chance after chance but his finishing was nowhere to be found. Theo still needs [...]
Arsene Wenger has been talking his side up in Malyasia. He believes that Arsenal are good enough to win the league this season. Apparently, they are ready to reach their full potential. We have heard it all before:
“I believe we are perfectly good enough. What we did last year, considering the age of the squad and the problems we had with injuries, was a credit to the team and we have a good opportunity now to show that we have the quality. If you are a winner, you say: ‘We were very close last year, let’s do it this year.’ You come back.
“I believe that the real destiny of this team is now there. They know as well as I know that we were very, very close last season. We intend to show everybody that we can do it. We are a young team and we can only be better. It demands the strength of character that the champions have. That’s what we want to show.”
Wenger is much more optimistic now than he was at the end of the season. Arsene even admits that last season’s collapse took a real toll on him: “It was because I took full responsibility for what happened. I knew at some stage that it was lost and I had so much hope for the team, because through November and December, you could feel that the team had really taken off and could win everything. And it was so close.
13 July, 2011: Arsenal trounced Malaysia 4-0 in the Gunners’ first pre-season match. Almost all the players received playing time. Among the goal-scorers were Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, and Tomas Rosciky. The Gunners looked sharp and decisive in their passing, and brilliant in their finishing.
Jack Wilshere was able to draw a penalty in the 5th minute. After slipping into the penalty area, Wilshere was blatantly tripped up and the referee pointed to the spot. Aaron Ramsey buried the kick into the back of the net to give the Gunners an early lead.
Aaron Ramsey played a vital part in the second goal as well. He launched a through ball right to a streaking Theo Walcott. Theo booted the ball right over the keeper, who had started to come out of his net, with his first touch. It was a fantastic finish and Arsenal was up 2-0 at the half.
The third goal was perhaps the prettiest of the day. A pass from Rosicky put Vela alone with the keeper. The Mexican kept his cool and put a cheeky chip past the keeper in the 58th minute. Vela was impressive throughout, showcasing his magnificent touch. His finishing wasn’t the best, though, as he found himself twice with the keeper miles away from the goal and failed to score.
The fourth goal came in the last minute of regular time. It occured from a rare Rosicky header. The Czech midfielder had just blown a clear opportunity, but he made up for it with this goal. [...]
11 July, 2011: Arsenal is in Asia now, readying for a two-match pre-season tour of the Far East. The first match will be played on Wednesday in Malaysia at 8:45 PM local time, or 1:45 PM GMT. The second match will take place on Saturday at 12:30 PM GMT in China against Hangzhou Greentown.
Unfortunately, Gervinho will not be able to make the trip as his transfer is still being processed, but there is still plenty to look forward to. Everyone is making the trip except Cesc Fabregas, Manual Almunia, and Nicklas Bendtner. Nasri will make the trip despite rumours of a move to Manchester.
There are three exciting young players to watch for during the tour. Emmanuel Frimpong, Ryo Miyaichi, and Carl Jenkinson will look to make their mark during the two matches. Frimpong, 19-years old, is a defensive midfielder. Miyaichi, meanwhile, is a 18-year old striker who played on loan with Feyenoord.
Jenkinson is a 19-year old right back, who can also fill in at centre-half. Jenkinson was signed from Charlton last month. He is a dual national footballer who can represent either England or Finland. Jenkinson has been capped three times for the U-19 Finland team, once for England U-17, and once for Finland U-21.
Emmanuel Frimpong’s early career has been marred by injury. He missed almost all of last season after suffering an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament. Frimpong is determined to get back on track and make up for lost time. Internationally, Frimpong has been capped six times [...]
11 July 2011: Aston Villa has stated that they have not received an Arsenal bid for Stewart Downing. Nicklas Bendtner will miss the Asian Tour while working out a move from the Emirates. Arsenal may still be looking at Per Mertesacker as a solution to the centre-back woes.
According to The Guardian, Aston Villa has denied receiving a bid from Arsenal for winger Stewart Downing. Rumours were swirling around an £18m offer, but it appears to be false.
According to Sky Sports, Downing would prefer to go to Liverpool over Arsenal. Interesting, considering Liverpool will not play in Europe this season. The Anfield side finished sixth in the Premier League last season, not good enough for Europa League… but good enough for Stewart Downing.
Let Downing go to Liverpool. He is not a player to get excited about anyway. There are much more talented wingers out there than the Aston Villa man. In fact, 18-year old Ryo Miyaichi could be the answer. I will spend more time on him in the Asian tour preview article later today.
According to various sources, Nicklas Bendtner is set to leave Arsenal. The Danish striker was left off the squad for the upcoming tour, and it is believed that he will soon leave England to play in either Portugal or Germany. Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon are believed to be the leading the chase for Bendtner but do not count out Benfica.
According to The Telegraph, Bendtner will bring around £9m. Arsene will take the money for the [...]
