Speaking after the match, he said: “I am pleased with this performance because the focus in pre-season is to get the quality of our game back and for long periods we played in a convincing way”.
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But Singapore Selection coach V Sundramoorthy believes the experience will also benefit his local players, as they look to continue their excellent start to the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in September.
The message got through to the official and after the scheduled break to allow the players respite from the stifling conditions, Pawson dealt with the Potters’ next foul by brandishing a yellow card. Alexis Sanchez is also again likely to be asked to play on the left when he returns from holiday.
Everton’s best spell came in the first half where they were unfortunate to be denied an equaliser four minutes before halftime when Arouna Kone’s shot deflected off Gareth Barry and into the Arsenal net but was ruled out for offside.
After some impressive cameo appearances for Arsenal he was sent on loan to Nottingham Forest, but, as was the case during his previous stints with Brentford and Coventry City, he struggled to make a significant impact and returned to the Gunners still searching for his first competitive goal in senior football. They doubled the lead in the 58th minute courtesy a few fantastic footwork from the diminutive Santi Cazorla. “I am raring to go and am looking forward to hopefully getting some more minutes under my belt tomorrow evening”, Crouch told the Stoke website.
Wenger replied simply “yes”, when asked if he was satisfied that contract talks were progressing with Walcott and added: ‘He is sharp and has prepared well, like every player.
Arsene Wenger: “We have no fringe players, only good players”. “Obviously we wanted to win and probably it showed that we are in pre-season because the lapses of concentration were very poor by our standard”. Most of us have experienced it with a woman only to end up explaining that it doesn’t usually happen. Had Walcott been a new signing being paraded for the first time, the watching Arsenal fans would barely have been able to contain their excitement. However, if Walcott continues to drag his feet, Wenger may face a choice between jettisoning him now or losing him for free in 12 months’ time. Arnautovic picked up the ball on the left of the area and stepped inside his man before curling a low shot into the far corner. His performance on Wednesday, however, will have done him no harm in terms of staking his claim for further involvement.
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“Against Arsenal, I thought we did well building up from defence to midfield”.
