Woking 0 Arsenal XI 3
Posted by Young'un in Arsenal | 15 July 2011
My local club entertaining the famous Arsenal was an opportunity I simply could not pass up, particularly as, without the traditional Barnet fixture, I would struggle to get to a game featuring the stars of the future. It was a pretty strong squad that was brought down to Kingfield on a beautiful summer's evening; with the starting line-up jam-packed with last year's loanees, as Championship and SPL experience, as well as the vastly superior technical ability, showed glaringly as Woking were given the run-around.
The home side in fact started with a fair deal of promise, with James Shea having to turn over a speculative but potentially dangerous early effort. That was about as good as it got as The Gunners settled and monopolised the ball. Oguzhan Ozyakup impressed at the heart of the midfield with some probing passing and the ability to always be available which is an essential trait for an Arsenal player. Whether that was due to Woking haplessly chasing shadows or a genuine football brain on the Dutchman's part remains to be seen. I hope he features in the Emirates Cup in a fortnight's time. Whilst the defence was rarely troubled, Kyle Bartley also showed his quality with some terrific cross-field passing and expert positioning. His height and lack of fear at barking orders is something many of us have been crying out for in a centre half. Again, tougher tests will give a better indication but you could sense Bartley's confidence and playing in high-pressure games such as The Old Firm will have helped him immensely.
20 minutes in, Arsenal made the breakthrough as Emmanuel-Thomas' corner was bundled into the net by an unfortunate Woking defender. A goal from a set-piece definitely one for the scrapbook but the stop-start nature of the match continued and it was just before the break before the next real chance was created, which again ended up in the back of The Cards' net. Benik Afobe, fresh after an impressive loan spell at Huddersfield, teed up Chuks Aneke who expertly spun his marker and fired into the corner.
Half-time saw Neil Banfield ring the changes with Rhys Murphy, Luke Freeman and new addition Samuel Galindo amongst those who started the second period. The latter looked comfortable carrying the ball but clearly hasn't as yet achieved the telepathic relationship with his teammates as some of his passes did not compliment the runs of the rest of the energetic midfield. That will come with time, though, and it was good to see a new, exciting prospect in the flesh. He did however manage to find Freeman with a clever pass who wasted a golden opportunity by firing straight at the keeper with the goal gaping. This was shortly after Emmanuel-Thomas had a low drive blocked and Aneke turned a decent chance over the bar.
Mid-way through the second half, Arsenal found the third their dominance deserved. Murphy split the defence with an incisive pass and Emmanuel-Thomas finished confidently with his left foot. It was a goal that epitomised the match as a contest, Arsenal exerting their quality over their non-league opponents without really breaking a sweat. The match began to peter out with Woking making a host of substitutions whilst Murphy pulled the ball wide just before the end after some good build-up play. It was a poor game in that The Gunners were so superior but seemingly didn't want to get out of third gear in fear of embarrassing the hosts so the scoreline remained somewhat respectable. A routine workout but one worth witnessing, particularly as an exercise that earmarks the young guns to look out for in the future.
Ratings for your delectation:
Shea 6, Hajrovic 6, Bartley 7, Boateng 6, Meade 5, Henderson 5, Ozyakup 8, Emmanuel-Thomas 7, Aneke 7, Watt 5. SUBS: Yennaris 6, Brislen-Hall 6, Galindo 6, Murphy 6, Freeman 5.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.reallifenews.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1333
