Arsenal defeats Monaco to win Emirates cup
Arsenal have concluded their pre-season tour by defeating Monaco on penalties to win the Emirates Cup after the game finished 1-1 in normal time.
An experimental Arsenal XI saw Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber handed their unofficial home debuts, while Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira were also given opportunities to impress from the off.
The hosts’ unfamiliar lineup looked disjointed and lacked rhythm during the opening exchanges, and Monaco needed just eight minutes to test Ramsdale, who got down low to beat away an Aleksandr Golovin effort.
Arsenal showed fleeting signs of life in the final third, mainly through the lively Gabriel Martinelli, but the Brazilian was culpable for Monaco’s opener in the 31st minute with a piece of passive defending.
Martinelli allowed Mohamed Camara to skip past him far too easily on the right-hand side, and the Monaco midfielder fizzed a cross in for engine room partner Fofana, who got behind the Arsenal backline and found the top corner with a stunning header.
The Gunners’ defensive deficiencies were there for all to see, but Rice very nearly marked his Emirates inauguration with a dream goal in the 42nd minute, racing onto Takehiro Tomiyasu’s pass before being denied a certain goal by Guillermo Maripan’s excellent sliding block.
From the resulting corner, Philipp Kohn produced a fine reaction save from Tomiyasu’s header, but the second time was the charm for the hosts, who levelled in the 43rd minute through Nketiah’s close-range volley at the back post.
The game proceeded to a penalty shootout and Arsenal successfully defended their Emirates Cup with a 5-3 penalty-shootout win over Ligue 1 side Monaco.
Arsenal now have four days to recover before their Community Shield showdown with Manchester City on Sunday, which precedes their Premier League opener at home to Nottingham Forest on August 12.
