2011 Emirates Cup

The 2011 Emirates Cup was a pre-season football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal at its home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London. It was the fifth Emirates Cup, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 30–31 July 2011, the participants were Arsenal, Boca Juniors, Paris Saint-Germain, and New York Red Bulls. The inclusion of the Red Bulls meant Thierry Henry returned to play against his former club, Arsenal. The 2011 edition, with the Red Bulls and Boca Juniors, also marked the first time clubs outside of UEFA's jurisdiction had participated in the competition.

2011 Emirates Cup
Emirates Stadium
Tournament details
Host countryEngland
CityLondon
Dates30 – 31 July
Teams4 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsNew York Red Bulls (1st title)
Runners-upParis Saint-Germain
Third placeArsenal
Fourth placeBoca Juniors
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored10 (2.5 per match)
Top scorer(s)Robin van Persie
(2 goals)

The Emirates Cup follows a point scoring system much like the Amsterdam Tournament, whereby each team plays two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. For this event Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain did not play each other, nor did Boca Juniors face New York Red Bulls. Unlike previous editions, additional points were not awarded for every goal scored. The Red Bulls won the Emirates Cup after beating PSG on the first day and then earning a point against Arsenal on the second. Paris Saint-Germain finished runners-up, while Arsenal came in third and Boca Juniors last.

Background

The Emirates Cup began in July 2007 once Arsenal finalised plans to stage a pre-season competition at its home ground.[1] Named after Arsenal's main sponsor Emirates,[2] the competition's inaugural edition was attended by more than 110,000 people across the two days.[3]

Argentine club Boca Juniors, French side Paris Saint-Germain and American club New York Red Bulls were confirmed as participants for the 2011 edition, alongside hosts Arsenal.[4] The inclusion of Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls marked the first time clubs outside of the UEFA zone had participated in the competition.[5] The involvement of New York Red Bulls had added significance because Thierry Henry, who formerly played for Arsenal, faced his old club.[6]

Summary
Thierry Henry featured in the tournament, playing for New York Red Bulls against his former club Arsenal.

The opening match of the 2011 Emirates Cup saw New York Red Bulls taking on Paris Saint-Germain. Defender Tim Ream captained the Red Bulls in place of Henry, who was rested,[7] while Péguy Luyindula started up front for Paris Saint-Germain;[8] the forward was the top scorer in the inaugural Emirates Cup.[9] The only goal of the match came in the 27th minute. Joel Lindpere passed the ball to teammate Juan Agudelo, and made a darting run towards the Paris Saint-Germain penalty area. Agudelo passed it back to Lindpere, who evaded his closest opponent and placed the ball into the far right side of the net, past goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.[10] For most of the game, Paris Saint-Germain struggled to get past the Red Bulls, who were comfortable in defence and "looked extremely dangerous on the counter attack" according to match reporter Joe Prince-Wright.[7] Paris Saint-Germain enjoyed plenty of possession during the second half; Jérémy Ménez almost equalised but for Frank Rost's save.[10] New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe was pleased with his team's defensive performance and told reporters after the match: "For a U.S. team playing a team like Paris, I think it's a massive result for us."[10]

Paris Saint-Germain's second match of the tournament was against Boca Juniors. The French side named a much-changed team from the defeat against the Red Bulls; Alphonse Areola started in goal, while Kevin Gameiro provided an attacking threat up front.[8][11] In the 8th minute, Paris Saint-Germain went ahead when Jean-Eudes Maurice scored, and doubled their lead minutes before the break through Guillaume Hoarau's strike.[12] Ceará scored directly from a free kick in the 79th minute and the final score was 3–0 in Paris Saint-Germain's favour.[12] Boca Juniors faced Arsenal the day before and came from 2–0 down to draw against the hosts.[13] Gervinho assisted Robin van Persie's goal in the first half a minute before the half-hour, and substitute Aaron Ramsey scored Arsenal's second, a long-range strike in the 46th minute.[13] Poor defending on Arsenal's part allowed Lucas Viatri to get a goal for Boca Juniors in the 68th minute and three minutes later Pablo Mouche equalised.[13] The post-match reaction in The Telegraph made reference to the futures of certain Arsenal players, particularly Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger reiterated his desire to keep hold of his squad, saying: "We are not in a position where we have to sell our players, we want to keep our players and we are not looking for money."[13]

The final match of the 2011 tournament was between Arsenal and New York Red Bulls. As expected Henry started for the Red Bulls, and Rafael Márquez also came into the lineup.[14] For the hosts, Thomas Vermaelen, Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna all started in a strong first eleven.[14] Van Persie's header in the 42nd minute looked to be enough for Arsenal to retain the trophy, but the Red Bulls capitalised on their opponents' carelessness in front of goal by equalising. Henry found his teammate Roy Miller, whose cross was diverted into the net by defender Kyle Bartley.[14] The 1–1 draw meant the Red Bulls won the competition as they picked up more points than the other participants.[15] Arsenal were booed off the pitch by their supporters, something Wenger said he understood, before adding "I don’t think we need to put any extra pressure on us now."[15] He revealed he wanted Henry "to play the last five minutes" of the match for Arsenal which was denied by the referee, and paid tribute to his former player: "They say great clubs never die, it looks like great players never die as well, because Thierry showed us today he is still top quality with his feet and with his head".[15]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 New York Red Bulls 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
2 Paris Saint-Germain 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 3
3 Arsenal 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2
4 Boca Juniors 2 0 1 1 2 5 −3 1
Source: [16]
Rules for classification: Three points were awarded for a win, and one point for a draw. Unlike previous Emirates Cups, no points were awarded for goals scored.[17]

Matches
New York Red Bulls1–0Paris Saint-Germain
Lindpere  27' Report
[8]
Attendance: 54,488
Referee: Kenny Ng
Arsenal2–2Boca Juniors
Van Persie  29'
Ramsey  46'		 Report
[18]		 Viatri  68'
Mouche  71'
Attendance: 54,488
Paris Saint-Germain3–0Boca Juniors
Maurice  8'
Hoarau  38'
Ceará  79'		 Report
[11]
Attendance: 60,011
Arsenal1–1New York Red Bulls
Van Persie  42' Report
[19]		 Bartley  84' (o.g.)
Attendance: 60,011
Referee: Kevin Friend

Goalscorers
Robin van Persie scored in both of Arsenal's matches
Rank Name Team Goals
1 Robin van Persie Arsenal 2
2 Joel Lindpere New York Red Bulls 1
Aaron Ramsey Arsenal
Lucas Viatri Boca Juniors
Pablo Mouche Boca Juniors
Jean-Eudes Maurice Paris Saint-Germain
Guillaume Hoarau Paris Saint-Germain
Ceará Paris Saint-Germain
Own goal Kyle Bartley Arsenal 1
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References

General

  • Ciullini, Pablo (10 September 2015). "Emirates Cup 2011". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 2015-10-21. Retrieved 21 November 2017.

Specific

  1. "Valencia replace Hamburg at Emirates Cup". Arsenal F.C. 11 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  2. "The Emirates Cup". Emirates. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  3. "Emirates Cup brings out the big guns". Al Bawaba. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. "Arsenal legend set for surprise return to the Emirates". Islington Gazette. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. "Emirates Cup – a complete history". Arsenal F.C. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  6. "'Thierry will love every minute of it'". Arsenal F.C. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  7. Prince-Wright, Joe (30 July 2011). "Emirates Cup: Lindpere leads Red Bulls past PSG, 1–0". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  8. "Starting lineups, – NY Red Bulls vs PSG". Sky Sports. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  9. Saaid, Hamdan (10 September 2015). "Emirates Cup 2007". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. Lewis, Brian (30 July 2011). "Red Bulls beat PSG 1–0 on Lindpere goal". New York Post. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  11. "Starting lineups, – Boca Jrs vs PSG". Sky Sports. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  12. "Emirates Cup 2011: PSG 3–0 Boca". Arsenal F.C. 31 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2011-11-16. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  13. Taylor, Declan (30 July 2011). "Arsenal 2 Boca Juniors 2: match report". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  14. "Emirates Cup 2011: Arsenal 1–1 Red Bulls". Arsenal F.C. 31 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2012-01-03. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  15. "Henry, Red Bulls tie Arsenal to win Emirates". New York Post. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  16. "Emirates Cup – a complete history". Arsenal F.C. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  17. "Emirates Cup 2011 – Rules and Regulations". Arsenal F.C. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  18. "Gunners draw in Emirates opener". Sky Sports. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  19. "Boo-boys turn on Arsenal". Sky Sports. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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