Inter Milan 1 Suazo
I wish this is just a dress rehearsal of what Arsenal fans could expect come May 2008. The Emirates Cup is perhaps nothing more than just a nothing silverware but the winning feeling certainly brought the expectations for the new season a notch higher.
Compared to yesterday's match against PSG, Arsenal certainly started the match with a more aggressive attitude, taking control in midfield with Cesc Fabregas doing much of the playmaking and Matthieu Flamini carrying out the role of the enforcer.
A glorious Sunday at The EmiratesArsene Wenger obviously has a lot of trust on 17 year old Kieran Gibbs, who started on the left flank with Justin Hoyte providing the support from the back. Manu Eboue took his position on the opposite flank and new signing Bacary Sagna started for the second consecutive Emirates Cup match.
After playing the whole 90 minutes yesterday, Wenger opted to rest Nicklas Bendtner and started with just Robin van Persie as the out and out striker and Alex Hleb was given the license to roam.
Perhaps Wenger has more plan to use the attacking ability of Eboue, thus the decision to let Freddie Ljungberg go and sign the more solid Sagna as the right-back. His run on the right flank certainly put the Inter defence under pressure.
Van Persie tested Julio Cesar in the Inter goal early on while the youngster Gibbs set up Flamini with a glorious lay-off but the midfielder's powerful shot was pushed away by the Brazillian custodian.
The Emirates Cup, guarded by the Emirates LadiesThe Dutchman again tested Cesar when he attempted to score direct from a free-kick with the angle very much against him. It was goal bound but Cesar's footwork was good enough for him to reach the ball and pushed it away.
The Gunners continued to probe and just after the interval Fabregas released van Persie into the box and Inter newly signed defender Christian Chivu appeared to have pushed the Dutchman to the ground but referee Mark Halsey waved the penalty appeals away.
Arsenal looked set set to score but it was the Italians who broke the deadlock. In a rare foray into the Arsenal half, Cesar managed to sen a wonderful cross into the box. Despite skipper William Gallas's close attention, David Suazo connected well with the ball to beat Jens Lehmann despairing dive.
Eboue could have equalised immediately but after being set-up by van Persie his left foot shot just missed hitting the target. But Eboue did playe a role in the equaliser by releasing Sagna on the right.
A blurry image of Lukasz Fabianski as he collects his medal,the only time I saw him during the Emirates Cup Tournament
His square ball across the box found Hleb who saw his goal bound shot saved wonderfully by Francessco Toldo. But the rebound found the Belarussian again who remained composed to send the ball just beyond Toldo's reach into the net.
Arsenal needed to score again to win the Emirates Cup. Hleb increasing influence saw him creating chances for Van Persie and Kolo Toure but both of them failed to convert those chances.
Bendtner came on for Gibbs who received standing ovation from the Emirates crowd. With just five minutes remaining Van Persie received a pass from Eboue inside the box. When it looked like he was setting up Bendtner with a square pass, he flicked the ball past the defender before beating Toldo with a superb shot into the roof of the net.
Afterward, Arsenal just played keep ball to run down the clock and in the end it was enough to see them through and delivered a juicy appetiser for the new season.
William Gallas held the Emirates Cup aloft, hopefully there will be more to come!
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