Sunday and Monday’s pre-season matches involve an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stunner, a Simon Mignolet mistake and a West Brom humbling at the hands of non-league opposition.
Here’s how the trio of fixtures panned out.
Chivas de Guadalajara 1 Arsenal 3
Goals from Rob Holding, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chuba Akpom secured a fine win for Arsenal against their Mexican opponents late on Sunday.
Holding opened his Arsenal account in his second run-out when he turned in a Callum Chambers cross before Akpom sealed the victory in the second half, with Mathieu Debuchy providing the assist.
It was Oxlade-Chamberlain’s brilliant solo goal that stole the headlines, and coach Arsene Wenger later conceded that the upcoming campaign is a crucial one for the England man:
“It’s a very important season for him. [He gives us] power, penetration. He has it all, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It’s difficult what he doesn’t have – that’s why I would like him to get to the level he can go to. Maybe he doesn’t completely believe himself how good he can be and that’s the final step for him”.
Wenger gave Santi Cazorla his first start of pre-season, although the Spaniard is unlikely to make the Gunners’ Premier League opener against Liverpool as he recovers from long-term injury.
“He is our technical security in midfield and we missed him for five or six months last season. At the moment he is not completely there on the fitness front. That’s why I took him off at half-time. He’s a bit behind the others physically but I think he will be alright, maybe not on August 15th, but at the end of August he should be alright”.
Discussing his defensive options, Wenger again hailed the impressive Holding, though also revealed that Callum Chambers and Krystian Bielik could be part of his plans for Gameweek 1:
“At the moment we have Per Mertesacker out and we have Laurent Koscielny still on holiday, plus Gabriel. One of them will play at the start of the season or at least be in the squad. At the moment I have a look at everybody and after I will make my final decision. But as you just said, it’s true that Holding adapted very quickly. All the three have top quality and all the three miss a little bit of experience. I’ll have to make a decision in two weeks”.
Arsenal are next in action on Friday, facing Viking in Norway, and Wenger confirmed that the match will involve Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez, but Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Koscielny are not expected to feature.
The club, meanwhile, have rejected a bid by West Ham to take left-back Kieran Gibbs on loan.
Arsenal XI: Ospina (Martinez 68); Bellerin (Debuchy 46), Chambers (Bielik 46), Holding, Monreal (Gibbs 46); Xhaka (Elneny 46), Coquelin (Willock 65); Oxalde-Chamberlain (Zelalem 64), Cazorla (Campbell 46), Iwobi (Reine-Adelaide 65); Walcott (Akpom 46).
Liverpool 1 Roma 2
Jurgen Klopp handed Alex Manninger a debut in goal and used a total of 23 players as the Reds’ US tour ended in defeat.
Sheyi Ojo’s header from a Dejan Lovren assist had levelled matters before the break but Manninger’s replacement, Simon Mignolet, was at fault for Roma’s second-half winner from former Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah.
Emre Can was given his first start of pre-season following Euro 2016 while new signing Georginio Wijnaldum, priced at 8.0 in Fantasy Premier League game, enjoyed an extended run-out and showed flashes of his attacking threat.
There was a late injury scare when full-back Alberto Moreno limped off with what looked like a hamstring problem, but Klopp was quick to play down the issue after the final whistle:
“Yes (he is okay). Dead leg in the hamstring. He couldn’t activate the muscle so you cannot play. That’s how it is.”
Christian Benteke was one of just two unused substitutes on the night, with Klopp using Daniel Sturridge and then Danny Ings up front. Divock Origi – who netted in the previous friendly win against Milan – missed out with a groin problem.
Liverpool XI: First half: Manninger, Clyne, Klavan, Lovren, Milner, Can, Wijnaldum, Mane, Firmino, Ojo, Sturridge.
Liverpool XI: Second half: Mignolet, Moreno (Randall 81), Stewart, Wisdom, Alexander-Arnold, Coutinho, Henderson, Wijnaldum (Brannagan 70), Markovic, Lallana, Ings.
Torquay United 2 WBA 1
The pre-season mantra that it’s all about performances not results didn’t apply to West Brom as they managed neither in losing to non-leaguers Torquay.
New signing Matt Phillips’ first goal for the Baggies, from a Darren Fletcher long ball, was the high point. The fact it came ten minutes from the end said it all.
Priced at 5.5, he and Craig Gardner are the club’s most expensive midfielders in the FPL game, but the former QPR winger looks like a sure starter on August 13, if Albion’s joint-assistant head coach David Kemp is to be believed:
“He got a good goal, he looked bright, put some really good crosses in. That’s what we want him to do, he’s shown that he’s capable of doing that. Hopefully he’ll take that into the Crystal Palace game.”
With want-away forward Saido Berahino again largely anonymous, the signing of West Ham striker Diafra Sakho can’t come soon enough for an Albion side that Kemp admitted lacks a cutting edge:
“We do lack quality around the opposition’s goal, we’re aware of that and we’re trying to rectify that.”
West Brom XI: Foster, Chester, McAuley (Olsson 45), Evans (Dawson 45), Wilson, Leko (Fletcher 45), Gardner, Field (Phillips 69), Morrison, McClean, Rondon (Berahino 45).
