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5 Takeaways from Arsenal’s Dismantling of Lyon in Emirates Cup
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal returned to the Emirates for a good ol’ rendition of the Emirates Cup, which the Gunners have not won since 2010. To say they got started off in grand fashion would be an understatement. After destroying every form of opposition in Singapore, Arsenal faced much sterner opposition in Lyon. But they made the French Ligue 1 runner-ups looks like little more than the Singapore Select XI.
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All the star were on display for the Gunners: Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, the Ox, Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin. The youngster Alex Iwobi was also given the chance to continue impressing as he suited up in Alexis’s usual spot on the left wing.
Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott, Isaac Hayden, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chuba Akpom were all given substitute appearances as well.
This Arsenal squad is trying to tell us that they have a special bit of talent, and keep in mind that all of this dominance is coming without Alexis Sanchez, who was Arsenal’s rock for the first half of last year. It is hard not to read into the preseason too much, but keep in mind that these are not flub opponents. These are European heavyweights that Arsenal are making look like flub opponents.
The final was 6-0 and it begs to be reemphasized that this was not an easy team to defeat as easily as Arsenal did. The Gunners were just that good. Everyone pulled their weight to make this a dominant team victory and it would be a tough task to pick out someone who did not look good.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looks set to take the Premier League by storm this year, but he only pulls in an honorable mention on this list.
With that said, here are five takeaways from the first match-up of the Emirates Cup, 2015 edition.
Next: Olivier Giroud