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| Report | |||||||
| Event | Emirates Cup 2017 | ||||||
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| Date | Saturday 29 July 2017 | ||||||
| Venue | Emirates Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Anthony Taylor | ||||||
| Attendance | 54,538 | ||||||
← Arsenal - Chelsea Benfica - TBA Arsenal - Sevilla Benfica - TBA → | |||||||
Arsenal v Benfica was a match which took place at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 29 July 2017.
Back on home soil and back among the goals, we made a fine start to the 2017 edition of the Emirates Cup by beating Benfica 5-2 on Saturday.
After our two-week sojourn to Sydney, Shanghai and Beijing, this was a chance to put on a show ahead of the new season in front of a packed house – and we made the most of it.
The last time Benfica visited the Emirates in this competition, Yaya Sanogo scored four times as we ran out 5-1 winners – and the Portuguese giants were keen to avoid any repeat this time around.
Rui Vitoria’s side were slick passers and confident in possession, and they grabbed an early lead when Jonas found Franco Cervi in the box and he slotted past David Ospina.
But with the exciting Reiss Nelson picking from where he left off on tour, we mounted a strong response – and equalised midway through the first half.
Walcott was the scorer, but in truth he owed much to the excellent Sead Kolasinac, who muscled his way into the area and chipped the ball to the forward to volley home from close range.
Just after the half-hour mark we stepped through the gears again to take the lead – with Kolasinac once again at the heart of it.
The Bosnia international had enjoyed a fine first showing at his new home, and played a slick one-two with Francis Coquelin, who rolled the ball across the box for Walcott to convert.
But Benfica were lively opponents, and back they came – with Ospina making a smart save to deny Pizzi before the Portuguese side equalised moments later through Salvio.
The second half was an equally-enjoyable affair, as we continued to press forward in search of more goals – and we were rewarded almost straight away when Lopez poked the ball into his own goal.
With Alex Iwobi continuing his impressive pre-season form, a further goal looked on the cards and it duly arrived when Nelson escaped his marker with a deft flick of the leg before crossing to the waiting Giroud to convert.
The France international went close again with a first-time volley that was palmed away by Cesar, before turning provider as Iwobi found the roof of the net with a fabulous finish.
It was a fine way to round off an excellent performance – Sevilla are up next, but in this sort of form we can look forward to that game with a real confidence.
Match[]
Details[]
| 29 July 2017 16:20 BST |
 Arsenal
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5–2 | Benfica 
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Emirates Stadium, London Attendance: 54,538 Referee: Anthony Taylor |
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Walcott  25', 33'López 52' (o.g.)Giroud 64'Iwobi 71'
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Report |
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          Arsenal
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     Benfica
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See also[]
External links[]
| S.L. Benfica matches - 2017-18 |
| 2017–18 Primeira Liga |
| 2017-18 Taça de Portugal |
| 2017-18 Taça da Liga |
| 2017-18 Champions League |
| Friendly Matches |
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Arsenal (a) · |