Arsenal 3-2 Celtic: Arsenal Make Hard Work of Winning the Cup

Good morning. Arsenal won the Emirates Cup yesterday after a 3-2 win over Celtic. It looked like being a much more comfortable victory for Arsenal after 70 minutes, but a lack of full match sharpness and concentration nearly opened the door for a capitulation of Wigan-esque proportions.

The match started very impressively for the Gunners, with Celtic seemingly caught off guard by the energy and quality with which Arsenal attacked them in the opening stages. As a result, Arsenal were ahead in the third minute.

The ever-impressive Jack Wilshere played in Theo Walcott, whose shot was scuffed across the face of goal, but Carlos Vela was there for a sliding finish. At 1-0, Arsenal were on their way to the trophy.

Celtic gradually managed to find more of a foothold in the game after that; however, they failed to capitalise on their chances and found themselves under pressure once again. Spectacular efforts from Thomas Vermaelen, Theo Walcott, and most notably a wonderful volley from Jack Wilshere all came close to doubling Arsenal's advantage.

In the end, it was the unlikely figure of Bacary Sagna who got the second goal with a left-footed, first time finish from a corner, beating the goalkeeper at his near post.

So, half-time and very comfortable for Arsenal thus far. The second half began just as comfortably with Samir Nasri grabbing a third goal a little over five minutes in. At that stage it looked like game over, but Celtic, to their credit, did not give up.

They earned a penalty kick after naiveté from Wilshere in the penalty area, and hopefully the incident will teach him a lesson about taking players on in your own penalty area. Fortunately for Wilshere, his mistake was not punished as Samaras sent the ball sailing over the cross bar.

Nether the less, Celtic kept plugging away and scored two goals in relatively quick succession to set up a nervy finish. The 1-1 draw between AC Milan and Lyon earlier in the day meant a Celtic equaliser would bring them the trophy.

Arsenal, however, held on to celebrate their third Emirates Cup success in four years. So despite the late scare it was an enjoyable afternoon for Arsenal fans. 

Arsene Wenger   was generally pleased with what he saw. He noted that Arsenal faded in the last twenty minutes of both Emirates Cup games, and attributed that to a lack of full match fitness just yet—not a tremendous worry with a fortnight to go til the new season and only one friendly left to play. That leaves plenty of time to concentrate on training and getting players fitness up to scratch.

Wenger also said that he was impressed by both goalkeepers over the weekend, and I think that's a fair comment. Fabianski and Almunia both did well when called on. None of the goals conceded could be called their fault and Almunia particularly made one or two impressive stops.

Inevitably, the manager was asked about signings in his interview after the game, and confirmed the club are still on the hunt for a defender. Interestingly, when asked about Per Mertesacker, he simply said, "I would not like to come out on names because it raises the price straight away by 50 per cent."  

I don't wish to be accused of reading too much into things, but normally when there is no interest from us in a player the media have linked us with then the manager says so. That he hasn't done so in this case suggests there might be something to it.

Finally, the boss also had plenty of praise for Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong, who both look like they may have at least some role to play in the coming season. Personally, I'd be more inclined to send Frimpong on loan for his first taste of first team football but I suppose Arsenal aren't blessed with a multitude of options in the defensive midfield position so perhaps he can offer us something.

As for Jack Wilshere, his quality is there for all to see. I think he could really be pushing for a starting berth by the end of this season, he looks very much the genuine article to me.

So, after the fun of the weekend the squad have a week of hard work ahead before the next friendly, in which we should see them close to full sharpness ahead of the Liverpool game the next weekend. The new season is less than a fortnight away. I can't wait!