Arsenal Wins Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup: A Fan's Reactio

Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

I enjoy a good penalty shoot-out, even if it's in a friendly. The Gunners lifted the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup on Saturday, July 14.

In a somewhat tedious friendly match at St. Mary's, Southampton took the lead in the 31st minute with a Jay Rodriguez's header after a long period of extreme pressure. Then, in mere minutes, in the 35th minute, Arsenal responded when Gervinho breezed past two defenders into the Southampton box and scored in the near post, leveling the score.

Both clubs struggled to get a winner, but with no further goals the match went to a penalty shoot-out. After a skillful display of spot-kicks, Arsenal's Kyle Ebecilio shot the final kick wide. But it wasn't enough to deny the Gunners the trophy.

I suppose the friendly was useful. Arsene Wenger named a more experienced squad for the final game. Andre Santos, Johan Djourou, Francis Coquelin and Gervinho all started against Southampton. Southampton was on the offensive early against the Gunners, after losing to Anderlecht in their opener 1-0. Southampton was determined not to go scoreless against Arsenal; you could see that the moment the match began.

The Gunners played a very high-tempo game, they were confident and looked quicker than Southampton. Gervinho, in the 20the minute, fired just over the crossbar from the edge of the area. Southampton gained confidence as they continued to press before the half-hour mark. Kyle Bartley had to snap out of his nap quickly off the line after Vito Mannone flubbed a vicious free kick. The aggressiveness was worth it when Rodriguez jumped highest to head a careful cross into the far corner.

The match was intriguing up to the point when Gervinho evened everything up. After that it seemed like both clubs were on autopilot until the penalty shoot-out. If it wasn't for the penalty shoot-out, I don't know how stirring this match would've been.

It's great to see the Gunners playing actual matches again, even though its just a pre-season friendly, but I had a hard time to get up for this game on Saturday night. I can't explain why. That's probably why it's taken me three days to write anything about it. Friendly or legitimate league match, I'll watch a penalty shoot-out all day.