Sunday 14 July 2013

Arsenal Ease To A 7-0 Victory in Indonesia

After almost two months of a wait there was finally a game for Arsenal fans to watch their team play today. With pre season training barely a week old the team got their first taste of action as they played the first of three games on their trip to Asia. Their opponents were an Indonesian 11 in Jakarta and they proved to be no match for Arsenal who ran out with an easy 7-0 victory.

Arsene Wenger started with a fairly strong team but there was also plenty of younger players on show too. The goals were shared among six different players with Olivier Giroud getting the pick of the bunch with his second and the teams fourth goal. The other scores were Theo Walcott, Chuba Akpom, Lukas Podolski, Kris Olsson and Thomas Eisfeld with six of the seven goals coming in the second half.

It may not have been a test for the team but at this stage of pre season it's all about fitness and conditioning. The players certainly had a good run out and did all that was required of them on the day. They will face much tougher tasks before the season starts and most certainly when it does too.

The most important thing about the game was the chance for so many Indonesian fans to get a chance to see their favourite team play. Most of those fans will probably never make it to London to see Arsenal play and they took the opportunity to cheer their heroes on. There seemed to be a carnival like atmosphere in the stadium and I have no doubt those fans will remember the visit of their heroes for a long time to come.

It was good to see the young Arsenal players who got a chance doing well and the future looks bright for a few of them. The most impressive player for me was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the coming season will hopefully be the one where he makes his mark at the club. He's a player with a lot of talent and it would be great to see him take the final step and play so well that he becomes a permanent fixture in the team.

Arsenal have to sign some real quality players this summer, but young players will still hopefully get their chance to shine in the team. Chamberlain is a full England international and has a really promising future in the game but he needs to have more impact when he plays. He suffered from second season syndrome last season but it's time to put that behind him and show the manager the team cannot do without him.

With the Indonesian leg of their trip over the Arsenal players will move on to Hanoi where they will play against Vietnam on Wednesday. It's another game they will be expected to win and win comfortably as the work for he new season continues. The local fans will get a chance to see their heroes in action and hopefully the team will be as impressive for them as they were today.

One of the best moments of the day for me was seeing the team play in the new yellow and blue away strip. I really like the look of the strip and the striped socks are a real winner in my opinion. I can see myself making a purchase from the club shop when I get the opportunity to get over to the Emirates this coming season. 

Away from the football action the rumours of pending transfer business continue, but Arsenal still haven't signed any players of real significance yet. The same players names are coming up again and again with Gonzalo Higuain still the most likely one for me. I'd be more than surprised to see either Luis Suarez or Wayne Rooney in an Arsenal shirt next season but stranger things have happened.

Nicklas Bendtner is still an Arsenal player and he continues to be an embarrassment to the club at every opportunity. They have been trying to sell him for a couple of years now but his wages demands added to his off field antics have made it impossible to offload him. His star has fallen so far that it looks like he won't be going anywhere and he will continue to waste his talent in the bars and nightclubs of the world.

It's hard to believe that he's 25 years old already and fast approaching the prime of his career. His opinion of his own abilities married to his off field antics have seen his career plummet and if he's not careful he will end up on the scrap heap very soon. At this stage I'd just like to see him taken off the wage bill at Arsenal to make way for players who appreciate how lucky they are to be professional footballers and are prepared to put in the work required to stay at the top of the game.

That's it or today.

See you tomorrow.

2 comments:

  1. Did you see this amazing skill from Ramsey? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymMWtHb8KoQ

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    1. I did indeed and it was very impressive but you have to remember the quality of the opposition.

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