Emirates Cup: Arsenal 1 - 1 Milan: Missed Chances

Arsenal newcomer tackles a jerkface former Gunner. Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 1: Chamakh 36

Milan 1: Pato 76

It's late and I'm exhausted after helping a friend move, so you get bullet points instead of paragraphs. Deal with it.

• Both new signings, Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny, looked great in their Emirates Stadium debuts. Chamakh had the Arsenal goal with a nifty little touch finish in the box nine minutes from halftime.
• Among the youngsters, both Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong looked comfortable on the pitch.
• Lukasz Fabianski was not abysmal and he had no chance on Milan's goal, off a free kick which I didn't think was a foul on Sagna to begin with. But, while he had no chance, Arsenal's organization in defending the free kick was poor in the first place, and that organization is generally the keeper's job.
• Speaking of Sagna, I thought he was a step off the pace a bit, but I'm not positive if this was his first match of the pre-season or not.
• Arsenal had a golden chance to regain the lead shortly after Milan leveled the score, but Mark Randall was stifled twice in the box. Those shots have to go in. It was practically gift wrapped.
• Fabianski was bailed out by the woodwork on at least two occasions.
• I thought Samir Nasri was absolutely brilliant today.
• Overall, it was a thrilling match for a pre-season friendly and plenty of players had good showings. Both sides missed a number of chances to win this one.

Arsenal will play Celtic, who scored twice in the final ten minutes to draw Lyon 2-2 in the Emirates Cup opening match, tomorrow. Celtic are down 3-0 in their Champions League qualifier with a second leg at home coming up this week, so I don't expect them to field their strongest side.

News Roundup 1/15/10 - The American Sports Tycoon Edition

Why are there so many Denver Nuggets fans at the Emirates? Pic via New York Times.

• A few sources have articles on Stan Kroenke, the American who currently stands 17 shares shy of a 30% stake in the Gunners, at which point he would have to make a bid for the entire team under Premier League rules. [NY Times, BBC]
• The aforementioned BBC article also talks about Cesc Fabregas, and how he's not fucking going to Barcelona or Madrid, God damn it.
• Conflicting reports on the Jack Wilshere loan to FC Twente: The Daily Mirror says he's holding out for a Premier League team, while The Daily Telegraph says he's poised to complete the transfer. [Mirror, Telegraph]
• Philippe Senderos's Arsenal hell (good one, Mirror) may end with the center-back transferring to Everton. [Daily Mirror]
• 20-year-old midfielder Mark Randall has signed a loan deal to MK Dons for the rest of the season. [Sky Sports]
• Some line-up notes for Sunday, ahead of our weekend preview coming later: Gael Clichy will make the trip, and appear on the bench "minimum". With Denilson hurt, Song in Africa, and Fabregas returning, Arsene Wenger may have trouble finding someone to play defensive midfield on Sunday. [Arsenal.com, Daily Mirror]