Arsenal vs. Lyon: Score and Twitter Reaction from Emirates Cup 2015 Friendly

Arsenal crushed Olympique Lyonnais in their first match of the 2015 Emirates Cup, winning 6-0 to take the lead in the pre-season tournament's standings from Villarreal. With one point awarded for every goal scored, the Gunners are now the obvious favourites to win the tournament, with just one match against Wolfsburg remaining.

Olivier Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey each scored in a 10-minute span during the first half, while Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla added the fifth and sixth goals after half-time. Arsenal were deadly on the counter-attack, and Lyon's defence did its very best to make life easy on the hosts.

Get French Football News Match Zone summed up the performances of both teams in a single tweet:

The Gunners looked stronger in possession early but struggled breaking down Lyon's tight defence around their own box. Manager Arsene Wenger gave Iwobi a chance to show what he can do out on the left wing, with Ozil acting as provider through the middle, and the formation seemed to work well against Lyon, who left plenty of open spaces out wide.

The first chance of the match fell to the visitors, however, and it was a big one. Alexandre Lacazette released Clinton N'Jie, who immediately drew a fine save from Emiliano Martinez.

Goal's Robin Bairner thought N'Jie made a strong impression early, something Wenger likely also noticed:

Giroud had Arsenal's first shot on goal, although it nearly went out for a throw, and the France international spent the better part of the opening 30 minutes in isolation.

Clement Grenier suffered an unfortunate injury and had to be replaced by budding star Nabil Fekir, but all in all, Lyon appeared to be holding the Arsenal attack quite comfortably. The defenders made a mess from a routine set-piece delivery, however, allowing Giroud to open the score with his shoulder after plenty of contact in the box.

As shared by Bleacher Report, it was hardly a surprise who provided the assist:

Giroud could have appealed for a penalty, as there was so much contact going on, but the striker probably didn't mind that much in hindsight.

Just minutes later, it was 2-0. A quick counter-attack saw Ramsey tee up Giroud, who timed his pass to Oxlade-Chamberlain to perfection. The England international produced a cool finish to double his team's advantage, sending the Emirates into a frenzy.

Things got even crazier as soon as the Gunners reclaimed the ball from kick-off, as another perfect counter-attack fell to youngster Iwobi, who finished from close range. It was an absolutely stunning goal from Arsenal, who sliced through the Lyon defence like a hot knife through butter.

WhoScored.com's Ben McAleer couldn't help but bait some of the Gunner fans on social media:

Lyon were in a complete meltdown at this point, and after the official―correctly―called back another goal by Iwobi for offside, Ramsey made it 4-0, timing his run perfectly and finishing at the near post.

The Daily Telegraph's Matt Law couldn't believe how poorly the French defenders performed:

The Guardian's Amy Lawrence preferred to focus on the Gunners, who she thought were making it hard on Wenger to come up with a best starting XI:

Lyon tried to push back and muster some chances before half-time, but the French attack was virtually toothless and the Gunners easily held it at bay. After 45 minutes, the scoreboard shockingly said 4-0, and the hosts almost received a standing ovation from their fans as they left for the dressing room.

The visitors were likely hoping for a better start to the second half, but per Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett, things could apparently still get worse:

Lacazette and Fekir combined nicely to set up N'Jie, who just missed the target from a difficult angle. Minutes later, Lyon nearly managed to isolate Lacazette in front of goal, but the France international was offside and blasted his shot straight to Martinez.

Lyon were playing better now, but once again, their defence let them down in a big way, allowing Ozil to add a fifth for the hosts. After several bad attempts at a clearance, Giroud―from an offside position―found his German team-mate, who easily slotted the ball home.

This Lyon fan account didn't even care Giroud was offside, given the defensive ineptitude of the visitors:

After the fifth goal, Wenger decided to make some changes, giving scorers Ozil, Iwobi and Ramsey a well-deserved rest. Giroud and Oxlade-Chamberlain followed the trio just minutes later, and with so many substitutions going on at once, the pace of the match understandably dropped.

One of the players introduced was Cazorla, who converted a textbook free-kick late in the match to make it 6-0. The fan account's tweets became more and more painful to read:

Chuba Akpom nearly added a seventh, hitting the post with a powerful drive, and Theo Walcott couldn't get the ball past Anthony Lopes in the final minutes of the match. After just one minute of added time, the official mercifully ended Lyon's nightmare.

As you might expect, Wenger was more than pleased with his side's performance, via Arsenal's official Twitter account:

Arsenal now lead the Emirates Cup standings with nine points, four more than Villarreal, who will play Lyon on Sunday. Wolfsburg have just one point after their 2-1 loss against the Spanish side on Saturday, and the Germans will be the Gunners' final opponents.

While it's only pre-season, it's difficult not to get excited about this performance if you're an Arsenal fan. Lyon are a sexy pick to do well in this year's Champions League thanks to their young and powerful attack, but the Gunners easily kept both Lacazette and Fekir quiet throughout the match.

Ozil and Ramsey dominated in midfield, routinely finding the open man, while Francis Coquelin had no trouble shielding his defenders. It was a complete performance by Arsenal, who probably can't wait for the Premier League campaign to start. 

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