Arsenal’s pre-season continues with an International Champions Cup clash against French champions Paris Saint-Germain today.
Unai Emery’s team will be hoping to bounce back after a 3-1 penalty shootout defeat by Atletico Madrid earlier this week, after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
PSG will likely pose a similarly tough test, with former Arsenal managerial target Unai Emery in the dugout.
Follow live coverage of the fixture below.
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14:57
Anddd here are the next three, for the sake of completion.
Aubameyang pace favours Arsenal counter
Arsenal didn’t see the best of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season as his playing time was limited due to being cup-tied in the Europa League – the competition that Wenger favoured with his best players instead of the Premier League. But after a summer’s rest, the Gabon international looks ready to fire on full cylinders.
This was none clearer than when he was given space to run in to – largely thanks to the high defensive line that PSG persisted with. The first chance he got lead to Arsenal’s opener, with Aubameyang squaring to Özil to tap past Gianluigi Buffon, while the second saw Matteo Guendouzi lob the ball over the PSG line and only a good save from Buffon prevented Arsenal from doubling their lead.
Arsenal defence yet to be truly tested
Arsenal’s defence has long been its issue, but it’s far too early to actually gage if there’s been any improvement under Emery yet. What looks certain is that Shkodran Mustafi will partner Sokratis Papastathopoulos while Laurent Koscielny remains injured for the rest of the calendar year, while Hector Bellerin looks to be in favour on the right.
Who starts at left-back between Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal looks up for grabs right now, with both putting in fairly solid performances in pre-season so far, but until Arsenal start to play teams with more strength in attack, it’s almost impossible to judge where this side currently is.
Little to learn from such a weak PSG side
While Arsenal were able to field a close-to-full-strength side, PSG looked a shadow of their usual selves. None of their World Cup-winning French contingent were available, while neither were Neymar and Thiago Silva, so it was up to the likes of Timothy Weah and Antoine Bernede to make up the numbers.
Of the side deployed in Singapore, it was only goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, defender Lassana Diarra and midfielder Adrien Rabiot that can expect regular first-team action this season, while Christopher Nkunku showed a few signs of why he is highly-rated in Ligue 1.
However, this will look nothing like the side that competes in their biggest Champions League games next season, and for new manager Thomas Tuchel, it is hard to judge where they are in their development.
14:50
And here's his second, because it gives me another excuse to embed a picture of the wonderfully hirsute Guendouzi:
Guendouzi proving a first-team challenger
The arrival of the young France Under-19 international raised questions over what his immediate future would look like: would he slot into the youth ranks, would he go out on loan, could he make the first team? From what we’ve seen in pre-season, it very much looks like the latter will be the case.
The 19-year-old looked assured on the ball deep in his own territory, with Arsenal keen to play out from the back, and he also had no issue with dropping deep into the back four whenever PSG were on the attack.
He also displayed an eye for a pass going forward, with his ball from deep inch-perfect for Aubameyang to sprint on to. At such a tender age, Guendouzi should be given time to develop into his true potential, but from what we’ve seen so far he looks to have a bright future.
14:43
Jack de Menezes was on five things we learned duty for this match, and here's his first, completely free of charge:
Emery looks set to return to 4-2-3-1
In a bid to end Arsenal’s struggles, Arsene Wenger altered his formation to flip between three and four-man defences, with differing levels of success and failure. The tinkering also brought about plenty of tactical uncertainty, which looked to affect the players as they were placed into different roles in different systems.
Emery looks far more settled on a 4-2-3-1 which in recent times has brought the best out of Arsenal players, and also allows the side to include Mesut Özil without the pain that his lacklustre defensive effort brings.
But it does mean that Aaron Ramsey, when brought back into the side, will likely have to play out of position while it also means that Alexandre Lacazette may have to make-do with fulfilling the role of back-up to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It also creates a problem in midfield, as Ramsey, Lucas Torreira, Mohamed Elneny and the impressive Matteo Gouendouzi will all by vying for just two spots.
14:39
Well, they beat a bunch of kids, but Unai Emery will be delighted with how Arsenal saw out that win.
They were fitter, faster and stronger than the French champions, particularly impressing towards the end of the first-half when Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang began moving the ball around in style.
His subs also impressed. In particular Lacazette, who came off the bench to score two goals, and would have had a hat-trick if he hadn't unselfishly tried to set up young Nelson.
14:37
Just look what it means to them.
14:34
90 mins + 5: The youngster gets in behind PSG's abject defence and fires low past Cibois.
Arsenal finish the match in style.
14:31
90 mins + 2: Arsenal are in the mood for another. They patiently build up play in the middle before Ramsey spots the run of Lacazette, but he's beaten to the ball and PSG clear.
14:30
90 mins: FOUR MINUTES ADDED TIME ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH.
14:29
90 mins: Last season Real Madrid could only beat Real Madrid 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League.
This result therefore empirically proves that Arsenal are a better team than Real Madrid. And that's just facts.
14:28
89 mins: That was a superb header from Holding, to be fair. Nelson atones for his miss a few moments ago with a wonderfully weighted header, picking out Holding on the penalty spot.
His header loops over Cibois and under the bar, and Arsenal lead 4-1.
14:26
87 mins: How is that not four?!
Nelson collects Lacazette's low pass in the box but his low shot is beaten away by the keeper. He should have done better.
14:24
85 mins: "It's not going to be easy for a team like Arsenal to get back into the top four," our commentator friend notes."Even a team like West Ham will hope to be up there."
Five minutes until the sweet release of full-time.
14:23
83 mins: PSG may be trailing 3-1 but it's Arsenal who are looking more lively as the clock winds down.
14:21
81 mins: I'm not really sure what Thomas Tuchel will have learnt from this match, considering only three of the players who started this match will have realistic hopes of starting the season in PSG's first-team.
Rabiot has impressed. Weah has been bright. Nundu has been lively. But they look a long way short of Arsenal's fitness levels and have been poor this second-half.
14:17
78 mins: Yet another chance for Weah, after a couple of mistakes from Bellerin. But the striker belts his shot into the Spanish full-back and Arsenal clear.
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When is the match?
The match kicks-off at 12.35pm BST on Saturday 28 July.
Where is it taking place?
The Singapore National Stadium – located in, you guessed it, Singapore – will host the exhibition.
Where can I watch it?
Premier Sports will show the match live.
