Entries from July 2007 ↓

Robin van Persie’s late wonder-strike (I’ll see if I can find it on YouTube) won the inaugural Emirates Cup for the Gunners as it earned Arsenal a 2-1 victory over reigning Italian champs, Inter Milan.

Arsenal were MUCH better today than they were yesterday, and I was very impressed with van Persie, Alex Hleb (who scored the first goal for Arsenal today), Emmanuel Eboue and 17 year old Kieran Gibbs, who made his first team debut in front of a sellout crowd in London.

Nice to get the first piece of silverware since 2005’s FA Cup, but it’s still pre-season, so it’s not that big a big deal. Let’s hope it’s a harbinger of things to come.

Next up is the Amsterdam Tournament, and Lazio at the Amsterdam Arena on Thursday. I was really looking forward to watching a game on my birthday, but it seems as though there’ll be no US coverage of the match. Bummer.

EDIT: Found it on DailyMotion!

Mathieu Flamini and Nicklas Bendtner each scored to give Arsenal a victory over Paris San Germain earlier today in the opening match of the Emirates Cup.

Finished last night. I know there are a lot of people who haven’t finished, so I’ll refrain from a full review. Suffice it say, I loved it. Sure, there are still lots of questions, but the big ones were answered, and in a most satisfying way. I’m just sad it’s all over.

Disappointingly, Arsenal dropped their first match of the pre-season today, losing 1-0 to FC Salzburg in a raucous Bulls Arena. The hosts scored 15 minutes from time to claim the victory in what was an otherwise very entertaining match. Arsenal displayed some good movement, and Eduardo da Silva played a full 90 minutes. He had several opportunities to score, and I’m hoping that with a few more dress rehearsals under his belt, he’ll be converting those into goals in no time.

So, the Austrian tour is complete, and it’s back to London for the Emirates Cup this weekend. The entire tournament, involving Arsenal, Inter Milan, PSG and Valencia, is being broadcast here in the States on Setanta. Kickoff for the Arsenal matches is @ 11:15 AM both Saturday and Sunday.

Arsenal today announced that they have sold Freddie Ljungberg to West Ham for an undisclosed fee (although the BBC and SKY say it’s about 3.3 million pounds). Freddie’s departure truly marks the end of an era. At nine years, he was the longest-serving Arsenal player, and the last of the great “Double” side of 2001-2002. Freddie’s form has definitely dropped off in recent years, but that’s mostly due to injury. If he stays healthy, West Ham have just gotten themselves a bargain.

Robin van Persie scored twice, and Theo Walcott threw in one for good measure as Arsenal stayed perfect in this early part of the pre-season. Thursday’s match in Bad Waltersdorf, Austria also saw the debuts of Bacary Sagna and Eduardo Da Silva.