As a contest, Sunday’s Emirates Cup clash between Arsenal and Sevilla was more or less over within 20 minutes.
Arsenal were scintillating all over the pitch while Sevilla were timid, sluggish and so error-prone it felt like it could have been a cricket score by the end of the first half, let alone the match.
For a buoyant home crowd, it was delicious fare – almost highlight reel stuff at times – but I wonder if Mikel Arteta might have liked a sterner test for his charges ahead of next week’s Premier League opener at Crystal Palace.
Cutting through the Spanish side was child’s play at times while our back line went untroubled for large swathes of the match – particularly in the first half. A rigorous test for attack and defence it was not.
Patrick Vieira’s Palace will not offer such paltry opposition next week so something meatier from Sevilla would have been preferable, something to stretch our players just a little more.
That said, there was plenty of cause for encouragement throughout the match itself, with Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba in particular producing some stand-out performances. Bukayo Saka was his typically rumbustious self on the right wing while Gabriel Martinelli had plenty to offer on the opposite flank.
A hat-tip should also go to our new captain, Martin Odegaard, who was at the heart of all the good things the Gunners were about. He will play a crucial part for us this upcoming season so keeping him fit will be of paramount importance.
It was also great to see the ever-industrious Eddie Nketiah get himself on the scoresheet at the end of the match. Eddie may well have to play second fiddle to Jesus for most of next season but there is no faulting his effort and his output. He continues to work hard and continues to score – what more can we ask?
All said and done, it was a great day out for fans and about as perfect a performance as we could have hoped for. As long as complacency doesn’t set it after what has been a brilliant pre-season, we can keep our fingers crossed for a flying start next Friday.
Come on you Gunners!
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