With two weeks until the Barclays Premier League kicks off, Arsenal looked to be in midseason form as they smashed French side Lyon 6-0 at the Emirates.
The Gunners led 4-0 at halftime through goals from Olivier Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey, as they looked a step above the Ligue 1 runners up from the opening kick-off.
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Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla tallied in the second half to round off the scoresheet.
Arsene Wenger’s men looked immaculate as they picked apart Lyon, a side that won France’s Ligue 1 seven consecutive seasons from 2002-2008.
After the match, Wenger praised the play of his men and said last year’s World Cup hangover could have led to a poor start to the season for the club. He then dropped a hint that Arsenal could still be looking to make some moves during the transfer window.
Wenger, speaking to the Gunners’ club website:
It was a good, dynamic, collective performance where we could see that many players scored goals. Overall it’s in the continuity of what we did at the end of last season, and we’ve taken that form into pre-season as well. There’s a good team dynamic and we’ve shown again that we can score goals, which is what everybody expects from us.
When you score six goals, I concede that you don’t have a desperate need. We won the FA Cup final scoring four goals. We score goals, and that’s what I mean by that. We can create chances and we can score goals. We are open-minded but everybody is on the market. Many clubs have big, big budgets.
Arsenal was without Danny Welbeck, who is injured, and Alexis Sanchez, who is still being given rest after Chile’s win in the Copa America tournament, but the Gunners have been linked with a move for a high profile striker this summer. However, after scoring six goals against a quality European side, it looks like Wenger’s offense is coming together quite well.
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19-year-old Alex Iwobi scored his first goal for Arsenal in the win over Lyon, and Wenger said the teenage talent will not be going on loan this season as he hopes to develop one of the Gunners’ brightest prospects.
Arsenal will play Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in another preseason friendly today as Arsene Wenger continues to polish his squad for the Premier League, but keep your ears open for one more move that could push the Gunners towards the top of the table as Wenger knows Chelsea will be hard to dethrone as English champions.
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