Arsenal fans flocked tonight outside Emirates stadium in order to get a glimpse of the Arsene Wenger statue. The legendary boss got the statue outside and was a honorary guest inside for the last Arsenal’s home game before they meet with Manchester City in the Community Shield match. And what did Wenger and fans saw tonight? They saw Timber and Rice debuts, and can be happy with their display, but they also saw how Monaco, a sixth-placed team in Ligue 1 can be quick and decisive against Gunners defense. The also saw a win in the end, as Arsenal won the penalty shootout after the regular 90 minutes finished 1-1. 🎥 Arsenal win the penalty shoot-out 5-4 against AS Monaco. pic.twitter.com/JJGmK983CZ— AFCnewsroom (@TheAFCnewsroom) August 2, 2023 Arsenal vs Monaco Live Score..🔴 1-1 ⚫️ (HT)#AFC #ARSMON #ARSASMpic.twitter.com/cZblYAbjfT— Arsenal vs Man City Live Stream (@arsstrmsuk) August 2, 2023 The guests had several great chances during the match, but either missed them or Aaron Ramsdale was there to save it. In the end, it was he who saved former Liverpool forward Minamino’s strike and got them the win and the Emirates trophy. The Gunners keeper all of a sudden became in-focus player, mainly due to the fact that Mikel Arteta decided to sign Brentford’s keeper David Raya, so his performance was under the microscope, and he did good. Arteta also decided to switch his newly required defender Timber with Tomyasu, as the players switched positions during the game, showing that the team has more versatile players now. Declan Rice started the game alongside Partey and played in Xhaka’s position but was much closer to the opposition goal and showed that he will be a quality player. Gunners boss decided to start without first team player Odegaard, White and Saka, while Harvertz came in later, and Gabriel Jesus got injured before the game. His condition is still not known, but Edward Nketiah got the nod as both striker and a captain. Arsene Wenger returns to the Emirates for the first time since his statue has been unveiled outside the ground 🤩 pic.twitter.com/MpozbC8Bv0— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) August 2, 2023 First chance of the game was in the 8th minute (already) but Ramsdale saved a shot from Golovin. He saw a lot of action coming his way and the next big chance was also on his side, but this time, Ben Yedder didn’t have a proper shot. In the end, Ramsdale was forced to pull the ball out of the net in the 31st minute, when Camara passed Martinelli easily and delivered a great cross to Fofana. The guests continued to break Arsenal’s defense easily and created another big chance a few minutes later, but defender Maripan missed the ball completely. New boy Rice had his chance to score on his debut in front of the home crowd, but his 15 meter shot was saved. And then out of nowhere Arsenal leveled when Edward Nketiah, who played instead of injured Jesus, used his only chance to score. “It’s crazy! You think you know football before you meet Mikel. Then you realise you don’t know a thing”The guests continued to test Arsenal’s defense in the second half with a few decent chances. In the 49th minute, Ben Yedder smacked the post, in the 51st minute it was Golovin with the shot, but Ramsdale saved and he did it again in the 75th minute. Arteta finally made some subs half an hour before the end and Trossard, Jorginho, Tierney, Havertz, Odegaard, White and Gabriel all came in. Former Brighton winger had the best performance of them all, but failed to score and the game went into penalties. The only miss, or to be precise Ramsadale’s save to former Liverpool striker Minamino was enough to give the Gunners a win one week before the Community Shield match. ##NAJAVA_MECA_7403155##
