Leno makes his case: five things learned as Arsenal end pre-season with a 2-0 win vs Lazio

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Arsenal completed their first pre-season under Unai Emery with a 2-0 over Lazio.

It has certainly been a positive first pre-season for Arsenal under Unai Emery.

After kicking off with an emphatic 8-0 over Boreham Wood, the Gunners recorded 1-1 draws against Atletico Madrid and Chelsea – sandwiched either side of an impressive 5-1 win over a young PSG side.

And the preparations came to a close tonight with a 2-0 over Italian side, Lazio, with plenty more positives for Arsenal fans to take away – as well as a little food for thought for Emery.

Here are five things we learned from tonight’s Arsenal victory.

1. Emery whips out another system

Unai Emery has always favoured a 4-3-3 system, which can often become a 4-5-1 when defending.

However, as any successful manager will tell you, you always need a plan B. Emery is an immensely successful manager, and he has the plan B to suit.

In the first half of tonight’s game, we saw Unai Emery experiment with a 4-2-2-2 system which switched to a flat 4-4-2 when defending.

Arsenal’s forward players always looked a threat in this system, with youngsters Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson looking particularly sharp. The system didn’t allow for the slick, precise style of attack that Arsenal have become accustomed to, but they beat the Lazio press and countered with lightning speed.

Despite the odd defensive lapse, this system could be a good alternative if the likes of Mesut Ozil and Henrik Mkhitaryan are missing.

 

2. Xhaka – Torreira pivot needs work

Tonight gave Arsenal fans the first glimpse of their new, dynamic midfielder Lucas Torreira, who has been brought in to try and add some much-needed backbone to the Arsenal side.

For his Arsenal debut, in the first half, Emery chose to partner him with Granit Xhaka – who was making his first pre-season appearance since returning from the World Cup.

In a defensive sense, the pair’s double pivot worked very well. Lazio never looked like getting any joy through the Arsenal midfield and only had any joy going forward when they worked it around the outside of Arsenal or completely missed out the midfield. Torreira, in particular, covered a lot of ground and looked very tenacious as he attempted to make his mark on this Arsenal side.

In an attacking sense, it leaves a lot of work to be done.  A long-range Xhaka shot aside, the pairing didn’t create a great deal going forward.  That isn’t to say they were untidy in possession – they still moved the ball very well – but they missed the presence of Mesut Ozil when trying to build attacks.

 

 

3. Reiss Nelson could solve winger crisis

A goal in the 18th minute was just the tip of the iceberg in what was an impressive 45-minute appearance for young Reiss Nelson.

That pacey wide man linked up with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Alex Iwobi to great effect and caused the Lazio back line a lot of problems down the right-hand side.

If Emery is to revert back to his usual 4-3-3 formation, he will lack an out-and-out winger with genuine pace – Henrik Mkhitaryan is more of a precision ball-player, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will always look to move into a more central role and despite signing a new contract, Alex Iwobi can be very inconsistent.

As shown tonight, Nelson provides that blistering pace and quality from wide areas and Emery may well utilise the 18-year-old’s talents after an impressive pre-season.

 

4. Arsenal have CB quantity, but not quality

Tonight’s game saw English youngster’s Callum Chambers and Rob Holding take the reigns at the heart of the Arsenal defence.

Despite keeping a clean sheet, it didn’t go too well either of them.  Lazio managed 13 efforts during the game and a lot of those came during the time they were on the pitch.

And when Emery tried to steady things with the Greek pairing of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Konstantinos Mavropanos in the second half, things didn’t get much better. Arsenal struggled to deal with crosses into the box all evening.

Arsenal also have Lauren Koscielny, when fit, and Shkodran Mustafi to call on in the centre-back department, but both have been known to have their less than convincing moments.

That is a lot of centre-backs name, but none of them can ever say they have consistently convinced in an Arsenal shirt.

 

5. Why Bernd Leno will be No.1

(Photo by Lionel Ng/Getty Images)

If it were in doubt before tonight’s game, then Bernd Leno has just put out a big statement to be Arsenal’s No.1 goalkeeper ahead of Petr Cech this season.

Leno pulled off a few smart saves and looked very assured throughout the game as the Arsenal defence in front of him often struggled to deal with the Lazio crosses.

However, the biggest indicator that Leno will be Emery’s go-to guy between the sticks was when the ball was at his feet.

A number of times, especially in the second half, Arsenal looked to play out from the back, draw Lazio on to them and get into the spaces they left by pressing.

Leno played a big part in that game-plan tonight, receiving the ball under pressure on a number of occasions and casually playing it off to his outfield teammates in a style that was not too dissimilar to his German compatriot, Manuel Neuer.

Emery will be pleased to have a goalkeeper that fits his passing style of play and, as good a goalkeeper as Cech is, he just doesn’t possess the same ability with the ball at his feet.

The post Leno makes his case: five things learned as Arsenal end pre-season with a 2-0 win vs Lazio appeared first on Squawka News.



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