Didier Drogba returns to haunt Arsenal yet again and Arsene Wenger talks sixy
Didier Drogba returns to haunt Arsenal yet again and Arsene Wenger talks sixy
Gunners have never really got to grips with the Didi man - and now he's nicked THEIR trophy the 'soft' way
Old Drog, old tricks: Didier Drogba scores a penalty past Wojciech Szczesny
Getty
Arsene Wenger last night claimed a “classic” Didier Drogba penalty robbed Arsenal of their annual trophy.
Wenger even laughingly said “very” SIX
TIMES as he described Drogba’s penalty award as being “soft” after the ex-Chelsea striker took a tumble to win a spot kick.
Drogba,
Arsenal’s nemesis down the years, duly converted the spot kick and then
fired a spectacular late winner to seal the Emirates Cup for Galatasaray. ** Re-live the Emirates action with our LIVE BLOG rewind **
It
may not be the Premier League title or FA Cup, but the traditional
pre-season curtain raiser has at least swelled the Arsenal trophy
cabinet during the past eight barren years.
Wenger said: “It was a classic Drogba. I think honestly the penalty was very, very, very, very, very, very soft.
“Drogba
did well when he come on. You could see he has kept that physical strength and that intelligent game and he finished well.
“But
I must say we were exhausted in the end, especially Per Mertesacker who
played the two full games after just coming back from Asia, and he (Drogba) took advantage.”
It
was
Ignasi Miquel who “bundled” Drogba over and referee Jon Moss did not
hesitate to award a spot kick. Drogba’s penalty cancelled out Theo
Walcott’s first half opener.
Drogba
then monstered Arsenal again with a late winner after seizing on fellow
substitute Wesley Sneijder’s through ball, turned the defence with his
right foot and then rifled home with his left. Intriguigingly, Drogba
has never been booked in English football for diving.
Wenger
has not managed to land any of his top targets yet but was pleased with
new boy Yaya Sanogo, the French youngster who joined after his contract
expired at Auxerre.
Sanogo led the attack and impressed even
though he failed to take a couple of openings while Walcott and
substitute Olivier Giroud both went close.
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Arsenal v Galatasaray - 4/8/13
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Wenger,
whose team drew 2-2 with Lazio on Saturday, said: “Considering he
(Sanogo) has only just come back from holiday with only three or four
days practice, what he did do is encouraging.
“We had a contrasting performance. In the first half we had a good performance. We were in control.
They didn’t look dangerous and we were not capable of maintaining physically that pace and that rhythm and that control.
“In
the
second half we dropped. It’s a long time since I have seen two such
different halves and then I believe we were not capable of keeping the
ball in the second half and we were punished for it. But it was a good
preparation.”
Wenger believes Cesc Fabregas will definitely stay
at Barcelona even though Manchester United are readying a third bid but
Arsenal still have first option on their former captain.
The Arsenal boss did confirm Gervinho is close to joining Roma and Maroune Chamakh is set to join Crystal Palace permanently.
“What
I know is Fabregas will stay one more year at least in Barcelona,” said
Wenger. “That’s the information I have. If that changes, I don’t know. But that’s what I have been told.”
Arsenal
picked
up no injuries during the two games but Japanese winger, who played a
key part in the Asia tour, has a cracked rib and is out while Nacho
Monreal returns to training today [Monday] while Thomas Vermaelen is out
for another six weeks.
Wenger added: “Ryo is injured, a crack in the rib he got in Japan and he will be out for two weeks.” Arsenal:
Szczesny;
Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Sagna, Gibbs (Miquel, 68); Arteta, Ramsey
(Akpom, 82), Oxlade-Chamberlain; Walcott (Podolski, 82), Cazorla
(Zelalem, 60), Sanogo (Giroud, 60). Galatasaray:
Muslera;
Eboue, Chedjou, Kaya, Riera; Melo (Sarioglu, 65), Baytar (Gulselam, 33),
Altintop (Colak, 46); Bulut (Sneijder, 46), Amrabat, Elmander (Drogba,
46).
Drogba's power over Arsenal
Didier Drogba played his 15th game against Arsenal yesterday and scored his 15th goal against them:
Aug 7, 2005: Chelsea (Drogba 2) 2 Arsenal, Charity Shield
Aug 21, 2005: Chelsea 1 (Drogba 1) Arsenal 0, Premier League
Feb 25, 2007: Chelsea (Drogba 2) 2 Arsenal 1, Carling Cup
Mar 23, 2008: Chelsea (Drogba 2) 2 Asenal 1, Premier League
Apr 18, 2009: Arsenal 1 Chelsea (Drogba 1) 2, FA Cup
Nov 29, 2009: Arsenal 0 Chelsea (Drogba 2) 3, Premier League
Feb 7, 2010: Chelsea (Drogba 2) 2 Arsenal 0, Premier League
Oct 3, 2010: Chelsea (Drogba 1) 2 Arsenal 0, Premier League
Aug 3, 2013: Arsenal 1 Galatasaray (Drogba 2), Emirates Cup
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