Pre-Season Catch-Up – At The Friendlies With Sir Paulos And Andy

Saturday saw a first in Fantasy Football Scout’s preparation for the new season. As per usual, there was a whole host of pre-season friendlies taking place in the build up to August 14th. However, for the first time, two members of the Scout team were able to -legally- take in 90 minutes of action in two of those many fixtures.

From the comfort of his Scottish manor, Sir Paulos put down his dutiful Scout Report pencil and took in the delights of Arsenal hosting AC Milan in the Emirates Cup. I, on the other hand, took a trip down to the Walkers Stadium as Steve Bruce brought his Sunderland team knocking on the door of my much beloved Leicester City. Here is what we gleaned from these fixtures, starting with my well esteemed colleague…

Arsenal took to the pitch against Milan playing a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Andrei Arshavin in a roving role behind Marouanne Chamakh up front. In the centre of midfield, youngsters Emmanuel Frimpong, and Jack Wilshere in particular, were more than an even match for the Italian side’s experienced heads. If Wilshere ends up on loan this upcoming season and gets plenty game time, his blossoming skill and cool head seems certain to make him a Fantasy bargain.

Elsewhere, the performance of another youngster -Kieran Gibbs- suggested he could take more starts away from Gael Clichy this upcoming season, as he rampaged forward from left-back time and again before being replaced by the Frenchman at half-time.

However, all eyes were firmly on the two new boys, and they didn’t disappoint; Chamakh earned the plaudits with a finely taken goal from an Arshavin pass, showed an awareness of others, and his movement and touch suggested he’ll be more than just a penalty box striker. A standing ovation and man of the match from the home crowd showed just what the Gunners fans felt of his performance, though the Moroccan will still remain favourite to be back-up to Robin van Persie once the Dutchman returns to first-team matters.

Settling nicely alongside Thomas Vermaelen at the back, Laurent Koscielny was calm and composed, intercepting the Milan play on a number of occasions, whilst also stepping out from defence in possession to show an impressive passing range. He was something of a threat in the opposition box, too; only a fingertip save from the Milan goalkeeper denied the centre-half heading in from a corner.

Ultimately, though, Arsenal, despite their dominance, succumbed to their Achilles heel of failing to close the game down, as Pato nodded in a free kick from close range for an equaliser the visitors barely deserved.

Now, if you’ll join me down on my level, here is my take on Bruce’s big day out…

Sunderland rolled into town with a much expected and well tested 4-4-2 formation. Darren Bent recovered from his injury worries to lead the line up front with Frazier Campbell as his partner.

The two strikers worked particularly well in tandem as they lead the attack for the first 60 minutes, with Campbell opening the scoring inside five minutes after picking up and slotting home a Jordan Henderson ball from inside the box. Campbell was lively right up until his removal and was clearly showing the confidence of a man who had recently bagged 4 goals in a game. But for three or four good saves from City stopper Chris Weale, Bent could have easily notched himself a brace as well – despite a lack of goals on the day, a good performance.

A little further back and the midfield saw Lee Cattermole thunder around the park as he always does (even though it was but a friendly fixture) and Jordan Henderson impress with his vibrant movement and good passing. He wrong-footed Weale and scored Sunderland’s second goal from thirty yards out.

Steed Malbranque took every opportunity he could to cut in from the left hand flank, often caught on the right hand side with Ahmed Al-Muhammadi. The much talked about Egyptian put in assured display on the right-hand flank, playing very high up the pitch. Not too much stood out beyond one sumptuous cross and a header from a corner that really shouldn’t have gone wide. Certainly enough for him to jump up a few watchlists considering he is just £4.5m and defender on Fantasy Premier League, though.

The rest of the defence gets a quick and final mention. They weren’t brilliant. We (Leicester) were able to break through them a little too easily and this is something that will need to be worked on ahead of facing stronger attacks in the future. Steve Bruce agreed. Simon Mignolet did make a few saves of merit though, and Anton Ferdinand left the field after only 20 minutes having looked to pick up an injury.

All in all, it was a very Sunderland performance to be honest. The team played well and managed to get the better of a side, unfortunately, that they should have been able to – but nothing spectacular, neither good or bad.

Arsenal and Sunderland were just two of a whole gamut of Premier League teams who participated in friendlies yesterday, so don’t forget to check out our Pre-Season Form Guide. All of the most recent results, scorers and line-ups are up to date for you to soak up accordingly.