Arsenal won the Emirates Cup for the first time since the 2010-11 season with the only goal coming from Theo Walcott helping them beat Wolfsburg.
The Emirates Stadium must have been filled with really happy supporters but the expectations would be to win more prestigious trophies. This is the second pre-season trophy of the summer for the Gunners. They have already won the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore early this month beating Premier League rivals Everton.
Unsettled striker Theo Walcott’s goal early in the second half was enough to clinch a narrow win over Wolfsburg to secure the trophy at home. This win comes at the right time to boost the morale of Arsene Wenger side as they prepare for next weekend’s Community Shield clash against Chelsea. This would be the curtain raiser for a season which is shaping up to be really exciting.
Wenger made wholesale changes to the side that thrashed Lyon on Saturday and handed Petr Cech his first home appearance. The former Chelsea goal keeper looked solid as ever between the sticks. He looks all set to take his former side at Wembley and it would be an interesting platform for him to show Jose Mourinho what he could be missing.
The match must have eased any tension that Wenger may have had on the form and synergy of his team. Jack Wilshere looked bright in midfield while Hector Bellerin looked perfect making those forward runs from right-back position. There were sparks of brilliance from the youngster Jeff Reine-Adelaide too and Cech made an excellent stop to deny an equalizer late on in the game.
Walcott looked too eager to impress Wenger in the forward position as he fluffed his lines more than once. He may be craving to occupy the central striker position on a regular basis but this performance will not prove it to the manager. And Walcott may not get any more golden opportunities than this to impress.
Wenger brought on Chuba Akpom for Mesut Ozil at half-time and that saw Walcott move to the right wing. Not sure if the gaffer wanted to take Walcott off the firing line or try him on the wing but it worked.
Reine-Adelaide found Walcott with an excellent through ball leaving him to slot easily for the only goal of the game. There was enough time for Cech to show why Wenger wanted him all the time at the Emirates.
The home supporters celebrated at the final whistle to celebrate another trophy but they will be really happy to repeat the celebrations at Wembley next week….