What I expect from todays Arsenal vs Lyon game
Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad will face off against Lyon in our last game of the pre-season and will compete for the Emirates cup in what should be a great chance to prepare the squad for the upcoming first game of the League season in just five days. We’ve had a solid pre-season, watching a few players begin to develop and the squad start to gel as we head into another long season with a lot of games.
I’d expect that Arteta will be fielding his strongest team possible, and likely to be the same team he puts out against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the first day of the season. We’re likely to see the first of new signing Riccardo Calafiori as Arteta will want to ease him into the side for at least one game before the new season. Unlike the game against Leverkusen, I expect Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka to be starting, they were brought on in the second half of the last game but will be needing more minutes in their legs before the season starts.
Lyon are a good team, finishing 6th in Ligue 1 last season after a strong showing and will be a good test for Arteta and his squad to prepare. We’ve faced off 3 times in the past and won two out of three, last time meeting in 2022 when we walked away 3-0 winners.
Lyon like to press high and hard and rarely stop running for the ball. They also like to move the ball around the pitch to create spaces and try to bring teams out of their shape. They can sit back at times and invite pressure but stay very well organised at the back. They also look strong in attack once they get going and are known to score a lot of goals. Ex Arsenal player Alexandre Lacazette is a big player for them but having just played in the Olympics Final, he certainly won’t be involved..
Yes, it’s still a pre-season game and in reality we just wanted for everyone to get some good minutes into the legs and stay fit and healthy, but it would also be nice to see another commanding win like we did against Leverkusen. We could again see some younger players get some minutes towards the end of the game after Arteta has given a lot of trust into some of the academy players this season.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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A good team performance, no injuries (and a win would be good).
I think it will be interesting to see who starts and how much time they get before being replaced. It was noticeable how Martinelli only got about 10 minutes in midweek and Trossard was on for 80.
what i am expecting post match is ‘proof we need a new striker’ comments