Match Report: Burgenland XI 2-10 Arsenal

Another sell-out crowd welcomed Arsenal to Austria to face a Burgenland XI made of 22 players from the region, ranging in talent. Youngsters such as Jack Wilshere and Carlos Vela were given another chance to impress, while the Hoyte brothers had the opportunity to make up for their woeful central-defensive pairing against Szombathelyi Haladas.

Burgenland Starting XI

Lehrner
Imre – Seier – Maxell – Hruby
Josef – Oberhauser – Kiss – Heinrich
Steyrer- Posch

Arsenal Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – J. Hoyte – G. Hoyte – Clichy
Wilshere – Ramsey – Denilson – Traore
Vela – Bendtner

First Half

It took just 45 seconds for the gunners to fire themselves into the lead, as the pace down the left of Clichy and Traore combined to allow Jack Wilshere to loop a left-footed shot inside the far post, evading the efforts of the defender on the line. This instantly looked a more pleasant spectacle than the arduous matches of this pre-season so far.

Early attempts to breach the Gunners back line found Gavin Hoyte more confident in the air, and Justin more relaxed with the ball at his feet.

Bendtner yet again found himself the breaking point of some promising moves, one such moment occuring when a simple first touch would have left him one-on-one with the Burgenland ‘keeper, in stead the ball ricocheted off his knee to the defender.

Some brilliant build-up play spreading from Sagna and Wilshere on the right to Ramsey and Traore on the left granted Bendtner another gilt-edged opportunity, again the Dane’s first touch from the cross was heavy and allowed the ‘keeper to make the save.

Vela burst into the game after 12 minutes by beating two Burgenland players and darting into the area – only to be crudely obstructed en route to goal. No penalty given, probably harshly but with the intention of prolonging the contest.

Ramsey proved instrumental again in starting a move with Bendtner and Vela, their one-two culminating in the Mexican’s cross just floating beyond Bendtner’s reach.

Nicklas showed he has more talent than these pre-season games have indicated when he leapt onto some poor control by the Austrian defence before driving forward and thundering a shot home to double the Arsenal lead.

The Denmark international kept growing in influence and a beutiful threaded pass by Wilshere allowed him to slide home Arsenal’s third after 20 minutes. His hat-trick should have come only a minute later when he should have turned in Traore’s cross from less than 6 yards out.

Hoever the travelling fans did not have to wait long for another goal, Vela capitalising on a good through-ball from Gavin Hoyte to produce a fine finish through the ‘keeper’s legs at the near post and his first in an Arsenal shirt.

Bendtner again missed a glorious chance when Lehrner failed to hold Ramsey’s long-range effort, although before his shot into the keeper’s body Bendtner was hauled to the ground – again no penalty.

As time progressed the Gunners’ hold on the match only tightened, Vela growing in stature and Denilson venturing further forward to get a piece of the action. Young Jack Wilshere proved instrumental in much of the most positive attacks.

Denilson it was that put Bendtner through for his thrird of the afternoon as he evaded the last defender to slide the ball inside the far post for 5-0 Arsenal.

The next goal came soon after, Sagna making another powerful run forward and feeding Bendtner brilliantly. His cross just evaded Wilshere (to his visible disappointment) but Vela was there to finish in his own time.

Some quick feet in the box from Ramsey led to a number of shots peppered on the Burgenland goal as there there looked to be no sign of Arsenal slowing before the break.

Wilshere continued his joyous Messi impression with a curled ball to Bendtner on the back-post, who brought the ball down and dinked it for 7-0.

Lansbury came on for Traore and shifted Wilshere to the left wing. Vela’s enthusiasm to drop to the left hand side allowed 16 year-old Wilshere to stay quite central.

Half-time brought respite for the starting Burgenland 11 who provided the weakest test so far in the pre-season fixture list.

Second Half

The second half commenced with Mannone, Walcott, Randall and Simpson taking the field, for Almunia, Clichy, Denilson and Bendtner. Lansbury moved back into defence to allow the rest of the subs to move into an extremely promising front 6.

The subs combined to give Walcott a shot across the ‘keeper, but with the ball parried into Simpson’s path the youngster missed the target with the goal gaping. Randall too entered the fray in a positive fashion with a shot launched just wide, although a pass left may have been wiser.

Vela’s hat-trick came on 52 minutes, Walcott laying the ball off for the Mexican to beat a defender and side-foot home. The substitutes ensured the pace of the game continued in much the same vein that saw the side go in 7 goals to the good at half time.

Simpson squandered another brilliant chance, although this he manufactured more through his own guile- but fired the shot onto the bar.

The change in personell for the Austrians did little to dampen the energy of the Arsenal attacks, with the youngsters still finding space in abundance. Simpson ended one such move with a smart turn and shot, comfortably parried by the second half ‘keeper.

The referee finally decided that the one-sided nature of the contest could not excuse every penalty claim, granting one for the challenge on Wilshere. He picked himself up and dispatched the spot-kick with confidence for Arsenal’s ninth.

Some great team play started by Walcott tore apart the defence with one-touch passes, which put Walcott on the score sheet and the team into double figures.

Some casual defending by Ramsey from a corner allowed a goal back for the Austrians. The Welshman’s fumbled clearance still needed a sharp finish from the tight angle to be put away, and Artner obliged.

Another probably legitimate penalty claim against Vela was turned down by the ref as the pace of play finally slowed. Wilshere took little notice of this trend as a fantastic flick and shot produced another good save.

Gavin Hoyte showed a glimpse of the talent that has kept him on the verges of the first team with a fantastic saving tackle to disposess the Burgenland goalscorer.

Steyrer got a late second for the Austrians, beating the offside trap. Mannone got a hand to the shot but that wasn’t enough to stop the ball trickling over the line.

The game slowed towards the death but fans will go home happy having finally got the drubbing they had been looking for in the set of friendlies.

Full Time Score: Burgenland XI 2-10 Arsenal

Player Ratings

Almunia – 5 – Simply had nothing to do, not his fault though

Sagna – 7 – Sound defensively and influential going forward, the Frenchman is surely amongst the best right-backs in the world at this time

J. Hoyte – 6 – Better, but far from infallible.

G. Hoyte – 6 – Also much improved, still some distance from the first team

Clichy – 6.5 – Solid as ever

Wilshere – 8 – A creative force, almost untouchable. Silky skills and a beautiful pass while not afraid to get stuck in. A massively promising player.

Denilson -6.5 – Did his job well enough, still not grabbing games by the neck

Ramsey -7 – Another good game from the young Welshman, his passing range clearly a cut above

Traore – 6.5 – Some smart play and good runs, final ball still often comes up short

Vela -7.5 – A good collection of finishes and nice for him to end up with a hat-trick. Clearly comfortable in front of goal

Bendtner – 8 – Had the lions share of the goals, proved himself Premiership quality but still some mistakes in pre-season

Subs:

Randall – 6 -Some good play, still selfish around the area

Lansbury – 5.5 -Still not being played in his preferred position, but his final ball was poor

Simpson – 5.5 – Some good turns but should have scored

Mannone – 5 -Conceded two though not much at fault for either, did little otherwise

Walcott – 7 – Used his pace to get beyond the backline and did well with the goal, decent performance.

Man of the Match: Jack Wilshere – Brilliant. Should aim for a Carling cup place, but it shouldnt be long before he graces the starting lineup.

Tags: arsenal, bendtner, burgenland, Ramsey, vela, walcott, wilshere