Classic Fabianski. Pic via The Sun.
Legia Warsaw 5: Cabral 17, Koscielny 33 (og), Jedrzejczyk 36, 75, Iwanski 90+2
Arsenal 6: Chamakh 38, Eboue 52, 60, Gibbs 63, Emmanuel-Thomas 81, Nasri 84
Arsenal's World Cup finalists returned to training in London on Thursday but did not make the trip to Poland for the Gunners' final pre-season friendly against Legia Warsaw. Apparently, Arsenal's entire defense didn't make the trip either.
The match was a dull affair for the first 15 minutes or so, with a few wide-of-the-mark free kicks being the only events of note. Then, in the 17th, Arsenal's midfielders and defenders pretty much decided they were not going to defend against Alejandro Ariel Cabral, who fired a brilliant 20 yard left footed strike past a helpless Lukasz Fabianski.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute following a corner kick as Fabianski stumbled over a teammate while Arsenal failed to clear and the ball careened off newcomer Laurent Koscielny and into the goal. Artur Jedrzejczyk banged in a close range shot just three minutes later and suddenly the match was becoming an embarrassment for the boys in red and white.
Marouane Chamakh pinged a goal back for the Gunners just two minutes after falling behind 3-0, winning a header in the box ahead of Legia's keeper. It was the kind of goal we'll hope to see very often from the Moroccan international this season. It was a crucial goal, giving Arsenal at least one positive note in what was otherwise a dreadful 45 minutes of football. Arsenal's back four to start will likely be their starting four on the back line next Sunday at Anfield: Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, and Clichy. Their performance at times today was disconcerting to say the least.
Arsenal switched keepers at the halftime mark, bringing in Wojciech Szczesny, who made his mark almost immediately with a brilliant double save. It was a crucial moment in the match and nearly 4-1 Legia. Instead, Emmanuel Eboue brought Arsenal within one in the 52nd with a header following a corner kick, then six minutes later picked up the brace and brought Arsenal level after a good amount of fancy footwork. Three minutes later, a thumping drive from Kieran Gibbs put Arsenal ahead.
Ah, but the defense wasn't done disappearing and the insanity was far from over as Legia pulled level in the 75th and Jedrzejczyk picked up a brace of his own. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas put Arsenal ahead again six minutes after that, then Samir Nasri just three minutes later banged in a free kick after his prior effort was handled by the Legia wall. Legia added another goal in injury time to finally close out the scoring at 11 total goals and a 6-5 Gunners win.
Next time, the game counts. Hopefully the defense shows up to Anfield next week.
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