Arsenal won their first away game of the season as they defeated Cardiff City in their home turf. Arsenal scored early in the form of a well directed header by Mustafi. Although,the Bluebirds equalized in the dying minutes of the first half with Camarasa beating Cech making it 1-1 for Cardiff just before half time.
FULL-TIME Cardiff 2-3 Arsenal
The hosts twice come from behind to level before Alexandre Lacazette’s late strike snatches all 3 points #CARARS pic.twitter.com/plV18h8a05
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 2, 2018
Gunners took the lead again for the second time with an exquisite finish by Aubameyang from outside the box with Lacazette assisting him for the goal. Cardiff showed grit and determination and took the advantage of Arsenal’s leaky defence,equalizing again and conceding through a free kick with Danny Ward being on target this time for Cardiff.Gunners kept attacking and got the goal they needed by a close range thunder-bolt from Lacazette in the 80th minute.
Win against Cardiff made it two wins in a row for Arsenal although defense issues still keep haunting them and it was hardly a stellar perfomance but there are very few complaints keeping the defensive worries aside as they are still a work in progress.Nevertheless,Arsenal fans will be happy to get the three points in their bag against Cardiff and winning an away game will help as a morale booster for the players in the upcoming matches away from home and will look to avoid a repeat of last season’s away form.
It was far from a convincing victory for the Gunners but these are the three players who really stood up when it mattered the most for Arsenal against Cardiff City :-
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE
Being on the bench on the last three games,frenchman gave a strong message to the gaffer why he should be a regular on the teamsheet by a strong and influencing performance against Cardiff. Arsenal fans were urging the manager to start him with Aubameyang against the Bluebirds and the calls were finally hear and fans exactly got what they were looking for.
10 – Alexandre Lacazette has been directly involved in 10 goals (eight goals, two assists) in his last nine starts for Arsenal in all competitions. Finisher. pic.twitter.com/CNPGbTYkDp
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 2, 2018
Be it the interplay with Aubameyang or making runs behind the Cardiff’s back four,everything was exquisite. He is directly involved in seven goals in his last five PL starts,scoring five and assisting two. His assist to Aubameyang’s goal showed how lethal they both can be if played together.It was Lacazette who assisted Aubameyang’s goal and scored the late winner against Cardiff with an absolute rocket into the top corner.He was also named Man Of The Match for his performance against Cardiff and it would definetly encourage Unai Emery to start him more often considering the vibe he brings to the team.
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG
Form is temporary but Class is permanent and Aubameyang showed exactly why with a cool finish against Cardiff from just outside the box.The Gabon international looked to struggle in the first two matches,missing two sitters against Chelsea and performing below par against Manchester City.
👏 Yes @Aubameyang7 – here's to many more in a red shirt! ⚽️#CARARS pic.twitter.com/XczUYmuTZR
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 2, 2018
One interesting fact is that it was his first goal from outside the box in 30 months,ending a 76 goal-run of scoring from inside the box.He looked sharper than the other three games against Cardiff and this goal will give him nothing but confidence to score more.Unai Emery will be delighted with Aubameyang opening his tally for the season as his goal scoring form will be very vital fo the Gunners this season. Gunners will be having their Europa League matches after the international break and Emery might think of resting him for all the group stage games.
LUCAS TORRIERA
The 23 year old Uruguayan signed from Sampdoria for 26 million pounds has not started a game yet for the Gunners but has been infleuncing whenever he came off from the bench and made his first contribution for Arsenal by assisting Lacazette with the crucial winning goal against Cardiff.
1️⃣9️⃣ minutes played
2️⃣6️⃣ passes attempted💯 100 per cent pass completion rate
🅰️ One assistAn impressive cameo from @LTorreira34 in #CARARS…
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 5, 2018
He was brilliant on the ball against Cardiff and made a series of biting challenges and intelligent interceptions and showed glimpses of what Arsenal was missing in midfield,a player who can be an anchor in the middle of the pitch and make ankle-snapping tackles and protect the back four of the team. Arsenal fans are already urging the manger to start him for the next games since the opening fixture but its a fierce competition out there with Xhaka,Guendouzi and Elneny fighting for that spot. One would agree that Torriera should start instead of Guendouzi with the latter’s lack of experience but he has been quite impressive too as well. For now,Arsenal fans have to wait to see that with the international break coming in.
It has been a bitter-sweet season for the Gunners till now having lost the first two fixtures and winning the next two but it is just the start for Unai Emery and there are many positives to take from the Cardiff game but defensive progress stands still and Unai Emery has to tweak those issues as soon as he can.
Heading into the international break is always a good thing but Arsenal will get more busy after the break with Europa League adding into the Gunners schedule.International breaks are always boring to go through but Arsenal will come back into the action again on 15th September when they face Newcaste United away from home.
