Report: Benfica 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal ended an indifferent pre-season in defeat as Benfica secured the ‘Eusebio Cup’ with a 2-1 win on their home turf.
The Gunners began the opening half in impressive fashion as Van Persie celebrated his birthday (and a prolific 2011) with yet another goal to put the visitors ahead.
Cruising into the second half, Arsene Wenger made several changes to his line-up, introducing more fringe players. And Pablo Aimar capitalized off some sluggish defending to pull the hosts level.
With the Gunners now rattled, Nolito then struck a second goal for Benfica as Arsenal completed their pre-season with yet more question marks.
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Chamakh, Squallaci and Lansbury were dreadful tonight. If with have a couple of injuries we are majorly screwed. If tonight didn’t wake wenger up to the fact the squad is paper thin in quality nothing will. If he doesn’t change his ways and allows both fab and nasri to leave we are staring down the barrell of mid table finish. I honestly don’t believe he will make the hard decisions and I personally can’t wait till the day he leaves. In Arsene we continue to rust.
AND IF HE ALLOWS BOTH OF THEM TO LEAVE WE ARE FACING RELEGATION? Lets get it straight we need those players atleast then we know we will be guaranteed fourth place.
we will not finish in the top 4 this year unless we buy 3 new starters who really change the mood drastically.
our major problem is that the team just doesn’t seem to be bothered about competing.
wenger’s not bothered so neither are they.
I’m not anti wenger but something needs to be done now. I watched the game and it was truly awful!
the team is a wreck. gervinho and chamakh are crap and that jenkinson is a joke
Chamakh yes but not the others mentioned
Complete reactionary drivel. Gervinho has looked like a good acquisition and Jenkinson has looked like he could grow into a good defender. He is still young and learning and his commitment is unquestionable. I for one would love too see a true Arsenal fan at the heart of our defence.
Get your prejudices in early. Now you’ll be able to repeat yourself for the rest of the season.
Gervinho is real class.
Jenkinson has impressed in the earlier games and was part of the second half rabble tonight.
Gervinho is a good player but the other two are really poor. I really dont know why a lot of Arsenal fans hate Eboue so much but you all will get your wish as he leaves leaving Sagna with Jenkinson as backup. Quite a dreadful defender. Yes he is young but so was clichy when he took over from Ashley Cole.
Wenger walk now
Another two Sylvestre ooops… Squillaci giveaway goals and humiliating defeat.
Clearly we don’t need new defenders do we get shot of fabregas and nasri because we are bored of it now.Buy or leave
hahaha shame on u wenger if u don’t learn know
How can you say Gervinho is crap did you watch the match.
I agree – Gervinho did well in my opinion especially in the 1st half.
It is so painful dat arsenal will remain like this. I was ashamed dat witout fab and nasri arsenal mid field was totally collapsed. Benfica destroyed arsenal in all departments. Arsenal is goin down, pls board rescue us d fans b4 we become a laughin stock 4 d whole world of futball. Arsenal i beliv will end in mid table and cnt qualify 4 champions league
Roly you hysterical moron…learn to write english then try again!
he made the point no matter how awful his english is,you are such ass hole.talk about soccer or shuuuut the fffuck up idiot
Wenger needs to go..he has lost plot..the whole world knows we need defenders..we need more englishnes in our squad..he paid about 8 million for squilci but he wudnt pay 12 million fr samba..what a joke..
Squillaci at fault AGAIN! i hope he goes this week. He’s a complete liability. Lansbury had a chance to prove he’s good enough for Arsenal & failed.
We were the better side first half. No Nasri, Fabregas or Wilshire a few good signings and we will be fine. The 2nd half was a mess but not surprising after the changes and remember you can only make 3 subs normally.
If Wenger buys a big striker and good centre half we will be fine.
Lay off Jenkinson the lad has done ok and at least I can see he has real potential.
wenger pls buy defenders we nid them,tired of dis continous hartbreak,if u dnt want 2 den u resign evry1 knws d defenders r nt gud
Wenger save us the time and just leave
I FELT BAD TONIGHT DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE MATCH. IT IS HIGH TIME AW BOUGHT 2 GOOD DEFENDERS AND 2 MID FIELDERS OTHERWISE ARSENAL WILL SURELY BATTLE WITH RELEGATION
saw disgusting wake up and buy samba,cahill and mata
I dnt blame cesc n nasri..there’s no investment in squad..keep buyin rubbish French player..what a load of rubbish..board n webber is taking Mick out of us fans..we pay lot of money for ticket..most expensive in England..where the money goes??board member n wengers pocket?
Wenger out before October
It’s a fucking friendly, not that big of a deal, take the positive from this match, we have something to build on the for the season.
wenger need 2 change his transfer policy or else he should be fired if nt arsenal fc wil loose the revenue that they generatin frm the fans.
Kudus to the birthday boy R.V.P. aka Dutch master for keeping his regular form. We the arsenal “never say die” fans are wishing u an injury free this season.
Useless. Big trouble for next season unless transfers are done. No depth in squad. Please arsenal sort it out!
Wenger will definitely lead arsenal to doom with his policy.
I don’t expect any big signing..cuz wenger thinks he has gt 4 centre halfs..he will lose cesc..and I wish he goes..boy has done enough..won every medal..he wants to win cl,which he will never win with arsenal..I hope we get battered again on Newcastle that might wake mr wenger up..money is there to spend but he doesn’t want to spend
Nomaan…………..you fookin twat…any Gooner who wants Arsenal to lose is a cretinous,in-bred wanker and should go support a bunch of losers like the Spuds or better still one of the relegated clubs! While you’re at it,learn English!
Oh dear, what a mess. Next season is going to be the most painful since Wenger’s reign. You could have had it all Mr Wenger but you are determined to drive the train straight into the buffers. No wonder our captain and Nasri want to jump
Whenever Squillaci sets foot onto the pitch it all goes wrong. He’s too shit to sell. No other manager will want him so we are stuck with him until his contract expires. Does anyone know how long he’s signed for?
We are all doomed Mr Mannering
The club is a mess at the moment and needs new direction fast
says, wenger is at fault – he refuses to sign a full squad but it is our fault for supporting a manager who has stated 4th place is winning and anything more once again proves i am a genius. arsenal is again good enough to come in 4th and win nothing make no mistake about that
Flop!flop!!flop!!!…. Wenger still believe arsenal has strong defence…Is a pity we are going to 10th place next season.
Now our passing game has gone. What’s left. A brand new stadium were boos will be heard for miles around
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, honestly, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
just to save money, and wenger get his percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is
getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…we who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, laughing in our face, and nobodys saying a word!! Take our money
and buy big houses and fancy cars. Bloody murder, I have had patience in 6 years, but now, I’ve had so much enough of this now
% on a free transfer is zero. What you are saying is not true.
To avoid complete doom & gloom – we were ok in the 1st half. Gervinho tying up with RVP at times & Miyachi worked his socks off in 2nd half. With him & Walcott we can be deadly on the break. Ramsey for me has been unconvincing preseason but we do have Wilshere who keeps getting better. When the money comes in for Samir & Fabregas then Wenger will have ÂŁ55mil upwards to reinvest. This could mean 3 or 4 high quality signings in the next few weeks. Wenger will sort it out before the window closes I’m sure of that.
I believe like every true arsenal fans, the team need one or two additions.but what i noticed in arsenal team is that, the team is not far from being best in the World. The major problem that is affecting the team right now is the issue of Fabregas and Nasir. Before this team can ready for the season wil be after this useless transfer speculations here and there. Nasir lack good adviser, i want him to leave the club, he is not better than wishere and ramsey at the middle.Arsenal will cope without him.
At the same time, this is right time arsenal should report barca to Uefa, i know uefa is barca puppet but for record purpose. Why is that every season they will not allow arsenal to prepare for the season?. It getting out of hand, i believe is a plot to disorganise arsenal in other not to challenge them in champion league..let wait and see, Arsenal will rise above all odds…….goner for ever
Wat a match of disgrace. Plz mr wenger if you want to turn our beloved team arsenal like LEED UTD let us know. We are tired of U. GO
Wenger knows he has lost the dressing room but his ego won’t let him change his ways.
The original players of project youth, they all want to leave/ have left
It’s easy for a manager to hide under a young squad, and have that as an excuse everytime we loose. “They are still young” “we showed good character”
Thats why Wenger never spends any money on players, he would have nowhere
to hide, no excuses…. his poor tactics and poor players fail to lift us to the top
We will be fighting against tottenham for the 5:th place next season, and deep down we all know this! theres no hiding anymore, no signings… nothing
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, honestly, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
just to save money, and wenger get his percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is
getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…we who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, laughing in our face, and nobodys saying a word!! Take our money
and buy big houses and fancy cars. Bloody murder, I have had patience in 6 years, but now, I’ve had so much enough of this now….its gonna be a long season
Listen my beloved gunners,
Wenger knows he has lost the dressing room but his ego won’t let him change his ways.
The original players of project youth, they all want to leave/ have left
It’s easy for a manager to hide under a young squad, and have that as an excuse everytime we loose. “They are still young” “we showed good character”
Thats why Wenger never spends any money on players, he would have nowhere
to hide, no excuses…. his poor tactics and poor players fail to lift us to the top
We will be fighting against tottenham for the 5:th place next season, and deep down we all know this! theres no hiding anymore, no signings… nothing
Look at Chamakah, look at his statistics, honestly, would he get a game with Manchester united. You’re having a laugh…wenger only signed him becuase he was a free agent,
just to save money, and wenger get his percentege of every deal he makes. I remember him saying this some years ago, so actually Wenger is getting richer, while our squad is
getting poorer.
Wonder why anybody dont mention this??
And they increase the ticket prize with 6.5%…we who already had the highest in Europe. They rip us of, laughing in our face, and nobodys saying a word!! Take our money
and buy big houses and fancy cars. Bloody murder, I have had patience in 6 years, but now, I’ve had so much enough of this now….its gonna be a long season
I have never read such shite on an AFC webblog! It is pre-season and we had our 2nd rate squad out there for the entire game,bar Ramsey,RVP,Ashavin, Vermaelen.Szcesny and Gervinho in the first half. Gibbs looked very good in the first half, Ryo is a promising player as is Jenkinson. You’ll all see an entirely different squad against Newcastle since they have something to play for and revenge to seek. My real concern is potential injuries this early in the season. When I saw RVP limping, I saw us without him for another 6 months!!! Than k God he seems OK.
Remember these games are to help AW decide who he wants to start and what he needs to do to shore up the team with transfers or youth players. Wilshere,Nasri,Fabregas, Walcott, Koscielny, and Diaby were missing and their squad replacements showed that they aren’t up to these first team regulars level yet.
On the positive side: We have two quality goalkeepers – Fabianski was great in the second half. TV5 is a true leader, Rosicky seems to have come to life again, Gervinho and RVP can be a deadly strikeforce against anyone.
But it was terrible to see the second rank players: Chamakh is too slow thinking, Squilacci is just too slow in every way, and Jenkinson, Miguel, Miyachi, Lansbury, Frimpong and Traore don’t really seem to be ready for PL-football.
Fabregas and Nasri are not the solution. They want to leave so let them leave! Sulking spoiled stars that play with no heart and no real effort are a curse to any team. I really hope Arsene will cash in on them and buy two or three experienced top class players like Cahill, Schweinsteiger and Ribery.
This, of course, was just a friendly, and I don’t really think Arsenal will fail to secure at least a Champions League spot this season, with or without Cesc and Nasri.
Jenkinson is not bad, I like him and I expect a lot from him, Gervinho is great, and I hope Premier League style suits him. – As for Chamakh, I don’t know what he’s trying to do, but he’s not doing it. And Squillaci… I’m impressed, any game he has played for Arsenal, they conceded a goal or more, is that right? I’d pay money just to take Squillaci out of Arsenal.
Plz what’s A.W doing? I pray Fab.& Nasri leaves. The club is nw a mess & the are 2good 4this trash. Wenger needs 2be sacked. Afterall arsenal is nt a french club so i dnt se d reason he builds the team around on-expriencd french KIDS
Indeed, is sad that AW doesn’t seem 2 boda abt our defensive problems. Dat shld ve bin de 1st tin 4 him 2 rectify. Bt he wil not stop his cock & bull stories & fix it.
Wenger,you are a pool,ARSENAL ARE going to religetion.SIR KBO2 M.SHINKAFA,BAUCHI-NIGERIA.
wenger is a stubborn man supportd by a greedy board n wt such people at d helms of affairs we may just be lookin at europa football next season, cos thats truely where we belong 4 now. God help us
Get ready for an exciting season, we are going to be in the relegation battle…
Guys dis is just da beginning more await us
I think the death of arsen will be the elevation of arsenal. Dont mind me.
Gosh! Sq18 is crap, hw on earth did we get dis fella? 2 me dis guy is a dead wood jst wish we throw him away. Sell d mada f****r plz. And plz arsene wenger needs 2 b flogged n sacked, plz do replace him with jurgen kloop.
Waoooi 1stly tankz to RVP the b.day boy 4 banging another goal but i can’t even write any thing again coz am tired of AW..
Show me you care for me when everything is wrong. BOY WHAT KINDA SUPPORTERS ARE WE?? It wasn’t long ago when we were bitching about fabianski and sezny and what happened ? When is the last time anyone saw samba or cahill’s team in the top four
? We do need defenders but we need patience more. How would you like it if your family members that you need for support told you you were shit before you went to work? Thats exactly what we are doing and guess what we do it enough times the boys will start believing that they are shit. Is that what we want?
Wenger out..
The more I read these negative comments, the more I believe that they are written by spud fans. I can’t believe people are acting like this over a friendly. The lack of knowledge when it comes to football is a joke with these people.
For a start, we played well in the first have. In the second half we brought on players for experience, but the way some fans are acting, you would think we had our strongest side out there.
Look at the players we were missing. Do you really think man u would do just as well if they had three or four if there best players not playing?
You fans (plastic fans) are a complete joke! You know nothing about football and 15 years or so ago, you were most prob supporting man u.
RVP is injured..Varmalen is not lookin good..according to wenger..so are you gona buy player..might..might not??
First time in years I can’t see us finishing in top 4..unless we buy players..
6 years and we haven’t won nothing..not even mickey mouse(carling) cup..
For Gods sake wenger buy player..dnt fuckin play with our great club…
it should be clear to all that our club is broke.
why else are we stalling on purchases? we need to sell bendtner, eboue, etc to raise funds. clichy was sold so we could pay for gervinho.
if i were in charge, i would just sell fabregas and nasri now and use that ÂŁ50m to rebuild. we won’t win anyway with these guys at the centre of the team. their hearts are not in it anymore.
i would watch a couple more trophyless seasons if the team actually played with some passion. the casual pass-pass-pass, pass-pass-pass is getting old.
I am supporter of the manager but am now begining to have serious doubts. All season we have words and promises that are quickly turning into lies. Here we are at the very outset of the season and the defense has just not been attended. Jenkinson clearly still has a long way to go before he is an Arsenal efender and Jourou is so inconsistant in every game. I might have beem better to go with the front line we have with RVP and the ever improving Vela et all..and buy two classs defenders and a midfielder, I am very disapointed if we buy theorlfs best now they have no chance to itegrate before the Newcasrle game.Heres hoping for the best anyway