Arsenal Vs Western Sydney Wanderers: Recap, highlights and analysis

Arsenal ended their pre-season tour of Australia against Western Sydney Wanderers. Here is the full recap, all the highlights and analysis from the 3-1 win.

Arsene Wenger was intent on providing as many players as possible with playing opportunities to develop and build their match fitness. Not one player who started on Thursday started on Saturday, with a slighter more senior and established collection of players featuring. The match still had an overarching pre-season feel to it, but there were signs for Arsenal to be positive about moving forward as they overcame Western Sydney Wanderers in a comfortable 3-1 win.

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The first half started in an extremely dull and lethargic fashion. Arsenal’s passing was neat and tidy, without any incision or intention, and Western Sydney were workmanlike and industrious, but lacked the quality, both when they broke on the Gunners, and in their positioning, their understanding and their cohesiveness when defending.

For much of the first half, chances were few and far between, with Arsenal struggling to create little more than speculative opportunities. Alexandre Lacazette perhaps should have done better when he tried to bring down an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross, Olivier Giroud squandered a chance from a tight angle, before heading straight at the keeper, with best opening of the match up until that point, from an inswinging Granit Xhaka free-kick.

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The game, however, came to life in the final 15 minutes of the first period. A couple of rather sturdy challenges ignited the match, with Xhaka, surprisingly, at the heart of Western Sydney’s frustrations, and then Arsenal began to break down their opponents. The first goal came after a lovely one-two between Alexandre Lacazette released Nacho Monreal down the left channel. Monreal had time and space, patiently waited for the right opportunity, before sliding a low pass into the path of Olivier Giroud, who had fainted and then darted clear of his defender, to see the ball fly into the roof of the net thanks to a neat first-time finish from the Frenchman.

The second came shortly after, with Monreal again the creator. This time in a deep position, the Spaniard floated a wonderful, rangy pass into the space in behind Western Sydney. It was Aaron Ramsey who had made the bursting run in behind, and after allowing one bounce, he simply lifted a shot over the stranded goalkeeper and into the gaping net.

The third and final goal of the half came thanks to a substantial and fortuitous deflection. Western Sydney were unable to clear, Alex Iwobi collected possession, laid the ball off for Mohamed Elneny who lashed a shot towards goal. It was seemingly nestling in the far corner, until a clip off a defender saw the shot loop towards the near post, leaving the goalkeeper helpless to prevent the goal.

The performance was not as fluid or as potent as the three-goal lead perhaps suggested. However, while concerns still persisted regarding the team’s conviction and penetration in the final third, the final few phases of play showcased Arsenal’s collective and individual sharpness, something that will only continue to grow throughout the summer months.

The second half again slipped back into the lethargic rhythm that so many pre-season friendlies are played at. While Elneny was unlucky to strike the bar with a caressed, curled shot from distance, opportunities were few and far between, with several loose passes stalling attacking moves time and time again.

And then the sloppiness which has seeped into the Gunners’ game came to the fore. After West Sydney crashed a shot against the bar and Arsenal failed to clear, Emiliano Martinez, bafflingly, picked up Aaron Ramsey’s back pass. Western Sydney, from a little more than six yards out, then took two bites at the cherry, with Steven Lustica eventually smashing a shot into the roof of the net.

After a raft of substitutions in a very similar fashion to Thursday’s win over Sydney FC, the game continued to peter out. While there were momentary pieces of real quality — one spin and driving run from Theo Walcott, which ended in a frustratingly overhit pass; a beautifully clipped free-kick from Mesut Ozil which painfully struck the post with the keeper stumped; neat interplay in the box which led to a side-footed Walcott shot that was well saved down low, to the left; Eddie Nketiah hit the post with a neat touch and shot– for much of the remainder of the match, it was careful Arsenal passing without much direction or purpose.

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Losing the second half is a little disappointing and the fluctuating energy and intensity throughout the 90 minutes, while understandable, is not what Wenger would have wanted. Nevertheless, there were many individual performances to be positive about ahead of two crucial games against Bayern Munich and Chelsea in China to complete their preseason tour.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/big_man_joshy/status/886177240135983104

https://twitter.com/SFR_Sport/status/886183938380763136

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/886190327266029568