Barnet 2 - 2 Arsenal

So pre-season has officially started, and the game was a fairly entertaining 2-2 draw. It was also a chance to see us play in our new away kit. I like it, I know others don't. The starting line-up was slightly different from the one I had predicted. It was:

Almunia

Djourou Gallas Vermaelen Silvestre

Rosicky(c) Frimpong Randall Wilshere

Arshavin Watt

To be perfectly frank, I thought the second half team had a better game. These were:

Mannone

Eastmond Ayling Vermaelen(c) Cruise

Sunu Coquelin Henderson Barazite

Emmanuel-Thomas Simpson

Both teams started their respective halves well, but soon settled into a slump, the reason for said slump to me appeared to be the length of the grass, which made it very difficult to maintain a passing game. Towards the end of the first half though, good link-up play between Watt (who was impressive throughout the first half) and Wilshere, led to a clever cross from Watt being turned in with ease by Arshavin. The only worrying thing of note in the first half was that this was potentially our strongest central defence partnership, and it did not cope well defensively at all from set pieces. There is however plenty of time to work at that. Barnet capitalised on this frailty to equalise. During the first half, I thought the stand out players were Djourou, Rosicky and Watt. And this brings me nicely on to Rosicky. Although perhaps not match fit, his passing was fantastic, and he covered the pitch well. Strangely, the injury has seemed to make him stronger and more aggressive in the tackle. Go figure.....

Arshavin was the scorer of our goal, but all round I thought he was pretty poor. Perhaps a tad on the selfish side and stopping runs before teammates had a chance to pick him out. Also did not seem match-fit, although that is no surprise.

The second half started fantastically for Arsenal, with Barazite dominating things, and his goal was rather special. Running away from goal at an angle, he managed to wrap his foot round the ball, and the shot flew with plenty of curl and dip into the far corner. Barazite really reminds me of Pires, not just because of the slim build and long dark hair, but because of the way he cuts in from the flank, his passing, and his late surges into the box. Plus we've seen that goal a fair few times from Bobby. That goal incidently was the third year in a row Barazite has scored against Barnet.

Thomas Vermaelen, along with Rosicky was one of the major talking points before the game. It was good to see him have 90 minutes, and just as well, for I thought that after a slightly shaky first 45, he really grew as the match progressed. Vermaelen's second half was of the highest order, and seeing that kind of performance with the captain's armband was almost reminiscent of Tony Adams.

So overall, a fairly competent performance. Although it was difficult to keep stringing passes together due to the length of the grass, we certainly tried. The defence was shaky at times, and this led to the two goals Barnet scored. Having said that, I was also impressed by Luke Ayling at the heart of our second-half defence.

In other news, Emmanuel Adebayor is now undergoing a medical at Man Citeh, and Wenger has apparently told Sky Sports that he expects Adebayor to sign shortly, assuming everything goes swimmingly with his medical.

Only 3 more days to the next game, which is against SC Columbia, and I for one cannot wait.
I'll be back with Adebayor talk (hopefully for the last time) should he sign for Citeh, following that it'll be the next pre-match tittle-tattle in 3 days.
'Til then Gooners.

p.s. Arsenal have signed a 16 year old Swiss defender, to go along with Martin Angha-Lochter, named Sead Hajrovic from Grasshoppers. He has already been training with the first team, and as soon as the season starts, he'll link up with our Under 18s, and Under 16s. More details can be found at Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth.