If only winning the Premier League was as simple as retaining the pre-season Emirates Cup which Arsenal managed to do on Sunday despite losing to Sevilla, the only team in the competition to win both their games.
Arsène Wenger’s strong Arsenal side lost 2-1 to Sevilla but a rule which counted goals scored among the overall points tally meant that the home team just edged the competition. Both clubs finished with a cumulative points and goals total of nine, and were tied on goal difference, but the fact that six of Arsenal’s points came from goals scored meant that, under the Emirates rules, they retained their stadium and shirt sponsor’s pre-season competition title.
The new club record £52.7 million signing Alexandre Lacazette scored on his first start at the Emirates with Wenger fielding a completely different XI to the side that had beaten Benfica 5-2 the previous day.
There was a steady performance from the 17-year-old academy boy Joe Willock in a deep-lying midfield position where the teenager did his best to keep things simple. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played in the left wing back position in the first half and on the opposite side after the break, and was arguably Arsenal’s most effective attacking player.
It was a burst down the wing from the Englishman that set up a chance for Hector Bellerin which the Spanish wing-back should have scored from in the first half, and after the break, Oxlade-Chamberlain made the goal for Lacazette, cutting back to him in the area for a simple finish. Danny Welbeck also looked sharp in the first half and his direct running caused Sevilla problems, although his finishing was erratic.
Mohamed Elneny started at centre-back in the centre of Wenger’s remodelled back three which was unable to prevent a nice move finished by Joaquin Correa at the start of the second half for Sevilla’s first goal. The former Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City midfielder Steven N’Zonzi scored with a beautifully struck left foot shot to win the game for Sevilla although not, as it turned out, the Emirates Cup.
Arsenal win the Emirates Cup
For the fifth time which, given they lost a game, Sevilla won both theirs, is a bit of a swizz in anyone's book. Quest has actually abruptly turned to Wheeler Dealers with the rotund ticket and his long chum. Thanks for your company. We'll have a match report imminently.
59 min
Lacazette drops deep to play it back to Willock then turns and heads into the box but Arsenal get bogged down in midfield and only get out when they go back to Monreal who picks a pass to Bramall. he finds Ozil and he skitters towards the box, laying it into lLcazette's feet but he can't turn.
45 min
Arsenal are caught on the hop when a ball up for Nolito takes out their midfield. The winger heads into the box but instead of thumping a low shot with his left foot, looks for Ben Yedder which allows Koscielny to dive in to knock t behind. Corner on the threshold of half-time. Arsenal head it clear and the ref blows for time.
42 min
Elneny ends the considered counter-attack by booting out Mercado's near-post cross for a corner after Nolito used his strength to hold on to the ball and buy time for reinforcements. Another poor corner is comfortably cleared, Arsenal bomb up the right and earn a free-kick when Escudero obstructs Bellerin with a fistful of his shirt.
41 min
Arsenal corner when Nzonzi intervenes. Ozil sticks it on Pareja's head who clears but Arsenal win the second ball and attack again down the right, Bellerin winning a second corner with his low cross into a crowded box. Ozil does the same again, picking out a defender who clears to the left and Sevilla attempt to spring free.
18 min
Nolito demands a penalty when his cross hits Willock who was turning his head away and was struck on the elbow as he tried to block it. Nothing doing. Up the other end Arsenal have a free-kick 20 yards out for a foul on Ozil, I think. Oxlade-Chamberlain pulls rank to take it. And sprays it wildly over the bar, about 10ft over to be precise. I can hear the cry of 'Garbage' from the Yorkshire Gooners.
16 min
Lacazette rolls a pass out to the right from 15 yards and into touch when he really could have tried to shoot between Pareja's legs. Bellerin wasn't anticipating but it was a promising move set up by Welbeck's gambolling run. Thirty seconds earlier Banega opened up a gap between Elneny and Monreal like a can of beans to drill a pass down the inside-right channel for Ben Yedder. The French No9 peeled off to the right and stabbed a low shot against the post as Cech dived towards him.
11 min
Good intervention from Willock to intercept Nolito's rather telegraphed pass from the inside-left spot towards Ben Yedder. Welbeck, Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain play a neat triangle on the left but the latter loses the ball when it skips ahead of him. Welbeck recovers it to have a run at Pareja who tackles him and clips the ball out for a corner.
5 min
Oxlade-Chamberlain earns a corner when taking on Mercado who tackles him on the slide by the touchline. Inswinging corner from the left by Ozil, straight on to Koscielny's head by the penalty spot but he doesn't get above it or enough power on it and floats it low to David Soria's right. The keeper gets down to make an easy save.
Sevilla's new boys
In the starting XI are Ever Banega, who has returned after a season at Inter for £8m, and Nolito, who began impressively at Man City but was frozen out after injury, who went back to Spain for the same fee. Wissam Ben Yedder, 'Benebut', scored 11 goals for the side in their Liga campaign in which they finished fourth.
Those teams in the trad style
Arsenal Cech; Koscielny, Elneny, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Willock, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Ozil, Welbeck; Lacazette.
Substitutes Martinez, Mertesacker, Holding, Kolasinac, Bramall, Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Nelson, Iwobi, Walcott, Giroud.
Sevilla David Sori; Mercado, Pareja, Carriço, Escudero; Nzonzi, Krohn-Dehli; Banega, Correa, Nolito; Ben Yedder.
Elneny plays at the back
We're back in #EmiratesCup action in just over an hour
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) 30 July 2017
And here's how we're going to be lining up 🔴#AFCvSEV pic.twitter.com/FSjVZ9B9Pg
Ahoy!
And the question on everyone's lips this midsummer afternoon is can Arsenal win their fifth Emirates Cup? Or will Sevilla consign them to the runners-up position for the second time. I simply can't wait to find out. Give us an F. Give us an O. Give us another O. Give us a T. Give us a B. Give us an A. Give us an L ... give us another L. FOOTBALL! Yay. It's July 30 ... Altogether now!
The first game he took part in, I was there mysel and saw,
There were jaickets for the goalposts and a tin can for the ba.
The Prince of Wales was there himsel, in his dinner suit,
Jock he passed the ball across, and shouted, “CHARLIE, SHOOT!”
For he’s fitba crazy, he’s fitba mad,
The fitba it has robbed him o the little bit o sense he had,
It would take a dozen skivvies, his claes tae wash and scrub,
Since Jock became a member o that terrible fitba club.
Pre-match preview
What is it?
It's day two of the Emirates Cup as Arsenal take on Sevilla for the pleasure of lifting the prestigious pre-season trophy.
What time is it?
The match kicks off at 4:20pm on Sunday afternoon, but you can join us for all the build up from 3:30pm.
Where is it?
The Emirates Stadium, of course. Where else?
What TV channel is it on?
Fans can watch the match live on little-known channel, Quest TV.
If you need a helping hand finding it, it's on Sky Channel 144.
What happened on Saturday?
Arsenal thumped Portuguese champions Benfica 5-2 in the first Emirates Cup match since 2015 after last year's tournament was cancelled to allow the pitch to be relaid.
Theo Walcott scored twice in an impressive pre-season outing for Arsene Wenger's men.
Having fallen behind to Franco Cervi's strike, Walcott scored twice before a Lisandro Lopez own goal and efforts from Olivier Giroud and Alex Iwobi sealed a 5-2 win for the hosts. The England forward said during pre-season that he welcomes the added competition up front following the arrival of club record signing Alexandre Lacazette.
Walcott scored twice playing in a deeper role and, with the future of talisman Alexis Sanchez still up for debate, Walcott will have enjoyed taking centre-stage.
Teenage wing-back Reiss Nelson also impressed in Arsenal's resounding win, crossing perfectly for Giroud to score the fourth.
Wissam Ben Yedder's penalty gave Sevilla a narrow 1-0 win over RB Leipzig to set up today's Emirates Cup decider.
The striker converted from 12 yards to give Eduardo Berizzo's side a deserved victory at the Emirates Stadium against a strong Leipzig side featuring Emil Forsberg and Liverpool target Naby Keita.
What's the team news?
One player who definitely won't feature on Sunday is Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez.
Arsene Wenger has given the 28-year-old permission to delay his return to training after contracting flu.
"He has flu, yes. I had him on text yesterday," said Wenger after Saturday's 5-2 win over Benfica.
The Arsenal manager also reiterated his belief that the Manchester City and PSG target will be staying at the club.
"There's no development - he is staying, of course," said Wenger.
Like Jack Wilshere and Mesut Ozil, Sanchez is entering into the final year of is contract but Wenger is confident the former Barcelona player will honour his deal.
"The players who have one year of their contract have to respect their contract and play out their contract," Wenger said.
"For a manager, it's a bit different because it concerns more what is the future of the club.
"The players were thinking, 'What's going on and what's happening?', so it creates uncertainty [with my contract] because it's a global policy.
"I am responsible for the global policy of the club but for the players it is different."