Arsenal players had a last chance to make their case for inclusion in Mikel Arteta’s first starting XI of the Premier League season against Lyon yesterday.
Arsenal brought their pre-season campaign to a close in style on Sunday as they won the Emirates Cup with a 2-0 win over Lyon.
Mikel Arteta named a strong starting XI for this fixture, and his side dominated from the off. The Gunners played with aggression and intensity, and were deserving of their victory.
However, despite their dominance, the hosts were unable to score in open play. Instead, both of their strikes came from corner kicks. The Gunners have clearly worked on new routines this summer, as set-piece coach Nicolas Jover proved he’s still vital to Arsenal.
Both of Arsenal’s goals came from their centre-backs. William Saliba opened the scoring within ten minutes, before Gabriel Magalhaes added a second midway through the first half.
Gabriel provided a goal threat last season. The Brazilian scored 4 times in the Premier League last time around. Gabriel and Saliba are in competition to see which of them can score the most goals.
Gabriel will be glad to have sent out a reminder of the impact he can have, especially as Riccardo Calafiori was also handed his non-competitive Arsenal debut against the French outfit.
Mikel Arteta wants Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori competition
Whilst Calafiori can play at left-back, and did so against Lyon, he is also comfortable at centre-back, and has more experience of playing in the heart of the rearguard.
It has been suggested that Calafiori was signed as Gabriel’s “replacement.” Certainly, Arteta will want the new arrival to put pressure on Gabriel for his place in the side. Such competition ought to raise the level of both players.
However, it is hard to imagine the Spanish coach breaking up his centre-back partnership any time soon. Saliba believes Gabriel is the best centre-back in the Premier League, and the duo are very comfortable playing alongside one another. With his showing against Lyon, Gabriel sent a message to Calafiori saying that he won’t be usurped so easily.
Competition is welcome at Arsenal
Oleksandr Zinchenko has welcomed competition from Calafiori and Jurrien Timber. The Ukrainian left-back will need to maintain his best form in order to start consistently throughout the campaign.
Competition for places is needed across the board at the Emirates Stadium. The only way Arsenal can possibly hope to usurp Manchester City this season is by ensuring that they are constantly driven to reach their highest possible standards.
