Only one Arsenal player started for France last night with Laurent Koscielny partnering Mamadou Sakho at the heart of their defence. This was Koscielny’s second appearance after coming on as a second-half substitute in the previous game against Switzerland after Sakho went off injured. Olivier Giroud had to be happy with a place on the bench.
Koscielny and France didn’t have too much to do in the first-half with Ecuador only really having one decent chance. He looked comfortable in possession and made a few timely interceptions.
In the second-half, it was more of the same. A lot of possession from France and even more when Valencia was sent off for Ecuador. France created a lot of chances but on the rare breaks Ecuador had Laurent Koscielny kept his composure, stayed calm and confidently cleared any danger. For the most part Koscielny played a decent game and handled Enner Valencia well apart from one attack where Valencia turned the Arsenal man.
On the 67th minute Olivier Giroud came off the bench to take the place of Blaise Matuidi and immediately got involved from a corner, making a nuisance of himself in the box. Giroud looked good up top for the French and held the ball up well to get Benzema and Griezmann involved in the play. Giroud linked up very well with Benzema to create a great chance for France but Benzema failed to add the finish. It shows yet again how well Giroud and Benzema can link up together. However, with the latest reports suggesting Benzema will sign a new contract at Real Madrid, perhaps it will only be in the colours of Les Bleus that Arsenal fans will get to see the link up play.
Into stoppage time and Giroud had a great chance with a header from a Sagna cross but couldn’t trouble the keeper who seemed to have an answer for everything France threw at them.
An Arsenal target Morgan Schneiderlin made is World Cup debut for France in the holding midfield position. He looked comfortable in possession and displayed a nice range of passes throughout the match. He may have been caught in possession a couple of times but overall he did well for France.
As France pressed, another Arsenal target Loic Remy, came on to add more firepower to the attack. Remy looked lively playing from the right of the three man attack and played some dangerous balls into the box as well as having a great shot brilliantly saved.
France couldn’t find the goal they wanted and the match ended in a disappointing draw. Laurent Koscielny played the entire 90 minutes and will be happy with the clean sheet. Olivier Giroud contributed when he came on but will probably feel he could’ve scored.