2015 Emirates Cup

The 2015 Emirates Cup was a pre-season football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal at its home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London. It was the eighth Emirates Cup, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 25–26 July 2015, the participants were Arsenal, Villarreal, Olympique Lyonnais, and Wolfsburg.

2015 Emirates Cup
Arsenal celebrate with the trophy after winning the two-day tournament
Tournament details
Host countryEngland
CityLondon
Dates25 – 26 July
Teams4 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsArsenal (4th title)
Runners-upVillarreal
Third placeWolfsburg
Fourth placeLyon
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored12 (3 per match)
Top scorer(s)12 players (1 goal)

Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point was awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Villarreal, and Lyon did not play against Wolfsburg. Arsenal claimed their fourth Emirates Cup and first in five years by beating Lyon 6–0 on the first day, and then Wolfsburg the day after by a single goal. Villarreal finished runners-up winning both of their matches, while Wolfsburg and Lyon ended the tournament with no wins. Wolfsburg, which scored one goal in the tournament, placed third, and Lyon, which scored none, placed 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 over 110,000 people across the two days.[3]

In May 2015, Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, Villarreal of La Liga and Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) were confirmed as participants, alongside hosts Arsenal, for the eighth edition of the Emirates Cup.[4] It marked Lyon's second appearance in the tournament; they also participated in 2010.[4][5] Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said of the three other clubs in a statement, "Lyon, Villarreal and Wolfsburg have some fantastic players and will all contribute to an entertaining weekend of football for our supporters."[4]

Summary

Villarreal took on Wolfsburg on the opening day of the 2015 Emirates Cup. Wolfsburg's squad included former Arsenal player Nicklas Bendtner, while Manchester City-bound midfielder Kevin De Bruyne started for the German side.[6][7] The match got off to a lively start with two goals scored in the opening 15 minutes. Villarreal took the lead through Mario in the 8th minute when the team drove forward and he placed his shot into the top left-hand corner of the goal.[8] Almost immediately, Ivan Perišić levelled the score with a left-footed shot.[8] The winner came in the 16th minute; Gerard Moreno's headed pass found Matías Nahuel in the penalty box, and the Villareal forward's hard shot found its way into the net.[8] The second half was a subdued affair despite several clear chances to score – according to FourFourTwo, "Bendtner's return to the Emirates was the main highlight for the home crowd," when the striker came on for Max Kruse in the 60th minute.[6][8]

Kevin de Bruyne in action for Wolfsburg against Arsenal on the second day of the tournament.

Arsenal faced Lyon in the day's late kick-off. Forward Alex Iwobi started for Arsenal, while goalkeeper Petr Čech, who left Chelsea to join the North London club, was named on the substitutes' bench.[9] For Lyon, Alexandre Lacazette played upfront alongside Clinton N'Jie, who later left to join Tottenham Hotspur.[9][10] Arsenal started well, moving the ball around in Lyon's half, and went a goal up just after the half-hour mark when Olivier Giroud headed in a free kick awarded for a foul on Mathieu Debuchy.[9] A flurry of goals followed: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 2–0, and Iwobi and Ramsey each scored before the break, leaving it 4–0 in favour of Arsenal.[9] Mesut Özil, who match reporter Amy Lawrence noted "was able to mix a more direct style with his penchant for assisting" added a fifth, and then substitute Santi Cazorla rounded off the 6–0 victory with a final goal in the 85th minute.[11] Arsenal's big win delighted manager Arsène Wenger who said afterwards: "We have a good squad. We score goals. We can create chances," though he maintained the club was "open-minded" to make additions in the transfer window.[11]

Lyon and Villarreal faced each other on the final day of the tournament. Manager Hubert Fournier made a number of changes from Lyon's defeat to Arsenal, including a start for former Tottenham and Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque.[12] He was involved in Lyon's first chance of the match, setting up Aldo Kalulu who had his shot saved by the Wolfsburg goalkeeper.[12] Villarreal were awarded a penalty in the 31st minute for a foul on Javier Espinosa, which Roberto Soriano slotted in.[12] The Spanish side doubled their lead early in the second half when Léo Baptistão chipped the ball over goalkeeper Mathieu Gorgelin.[12] In the day's late match, Arsenal beat Wolfsburg by a single goal to regain the Emirates Cup.[13] Theo Walcott scored the only goal of the match, assisted by winger Jeff Reine-Adelaide who Wenger described as having "something special".[13]

Arsenal finished the two-day tournament in top place, with 13 points. Villarreal were second, Wolfsburg third and Lyon with no wins or goals scored came last with zero points. The Emirates Cup was postponed the following year due to pitch reconstruction works at Arsenal's home ground; the tournament continued in 2017.[13]

Standings

Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored. In addition, shots on target were taken into account and used to decide the competition winners if teams had the same points total and goal difference tally.[4]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Arsenal 2 2 0 0 7 0 +7 13
2 Villarreal 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 10
3 Wolfsburg 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 1
4 Lyon 2 0 0 2 0 8 −8 0
Source: [9]

Matches
Wolfsburg1–2Villarreal
Perišić  10' Report Mario  8'
Nahuel  16'
Attendance: 56,690
Referee: Robert Madley
Arsenal6–0Lyon
Giroud  29'
Oxlade-Chamberlain  34'
Iwobi  35'
Ramsey  38'
Özil  62'
Cazorla  84'		 Report
Attendance: 56,690
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Lyon0–2Villarreal
Report Soriano  31' (pen.)
Baptistão  54'
Attendance: 59,918
Referee: Ryuji Sato
Arsenal1–0Wolfsburg
Walcott  51' Report
Attendance: 59,918
Referee: Craig Pawson

Goalscorers
Mesut Özil scored his only goal of the tournament against Lyon.
Name Team Goals
Santi Cazorla Arsenal 1
Olivier Giroud
Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain
Theo Walcott
Aaron Ramsey
Mesut Özil
Alex Iwobi
Matias Nahuel Leiva Villarreal
Mario Gaspar
Bruno Soriano
Léo Baptistão
Ivan Perišić Wolfsburg
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References

General

  • Ciullini, Pablo (10 September 2015). "Emirates Cup 2015". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 12 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 7 November 2017.
  2. "The Emirates Cup". Emirates. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. "Emirates Cup brings out the big guns". Al Bawaba. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. "Emirates Cup 2015 line up confirmed". Arsenal F.C. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  5. "Emirates Cup – a complete history". Arsenal F.C. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  6. "Wolfsburg 1 Villarreal 2: La Liga side win Emirates Cup opener". FourFourTwo. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  7. "Could Nicolas Otamendi head to Man City after Man United drop interest?". ESPN. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017. Daily Kevin De Bruyne update, part 1,203: kicker says Wolfsburg are willing to negotiate with Manchester City, and that talks took place when Wolfsburg were at the Emirates Cup in London last month.
  8. "Wolfsburg 1 Villarreal 2, live text commentary". Sky Sports. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  9. Hurrey, Adam (25 July 2015). "Arsenal 6–0 Lyon, Emirates Cup 2015: as it happened". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  10. "Clinton N'Jie: Tottenham sign Lyon striker on five-year deal". BBC Sport. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  11. Lawrence, Amy (26 July 2015). "Arsenal lay waste to Lyon in Emirates Cup as Mesut Özil makes his mark". The Observer. London. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  12. Webb, Lloyd (26 July 2015). "Lyon 0–2 Villarreal – Match report". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  13. "Arsenal defeat Wolfsburg to secure the Emirates Cup". BBC Sport. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
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