0-1, min. 68, Olsson. 0-2, min 87, Afobe (pen)
Arsenal secured a winning start to their 2014/15 pre-season campaign as two second half goals from youngsters Kristoffer Olsson and Benik Afobe sealed a 2-0 win against Boreham Wood, although the result was made a lot tougher than it looked against a fearless Wood side.
It was the first game for the Gunners since their FA Cup victory, and it only seemed fitting that they were to parade their trophy around Meadow Park before the game. The winning goalscorer on that day, Aaron Ramsey, captained the side in the first half, with Wojciech Szczesny and Yaya Sanogo being the other two final starters to play the opening half.
Arsenal looked bright early on and left the hosts unable to cope at times, with some beautiful passes being strung together in the centre of the park, although there were no clear cut opportunities. The likes of Gedion Zelalem and Chris Willock were looking very impressive in the opening stages of the game. Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin looked comfortable playing alongside one another in the centre of the park, the latter recently returning from a season-long loan at Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.
As the first half dragged out, Boreham Wood looked to gain more confidence from their defensive performance, sending a few lofted balls up the pitch and creating opportunities, making Szczesny look fairly shaky when he first got control of the ball around 20 minutes in. Nothing came of the chance, however, and Arsenal quickly got themselves back on the front foot.
Chances came in numbers in the final 15 minutes of the first half. After Aaron Ramsey had missed a couple of opportunities to set up and score for himself, a fantastic passing move on the half-hour mark left Sanogo in acres of space, and a cheeky cut-back bamboozled the centre-back. The result was a lay-off from Sanogo to promising youngster Jon Toral, and the Spaniard's weakly hit shot struck the outside of the post, with Ramsey being unable to tap the ball in.
Another chance quickly followed, with Sanogo hitting a shot straight at James Russell in the Boreham Wood goal with just him to beat. Towards the end of the half, as Arsenal players became slightly lazier towards the half-time whistle, the Wood tried to use tis to their advantage and create a few chances, although none were troubling Wojciech Szczesny.
Half-time: Boreham Wood 0-0 Arsenal
The second half saw a completely different XI come out for Arsenal, just as Wenger had promised in the build-up to the game. Again, it was a mixture of experience and youth, Kieran Gibbs, Tomáš Rosický and Mathieu Flamini making their way onto the field, whilst Spanish centre-backs Julio Pleguezuelo and Ignasi Miguel made an appearance. Benik Afobe and Chuba Akpom played up front as Arsenal played a less familiar 4-4-2 for the second half.
It was yet another bright start to the half for the Gunners, Chuba Akpom and Hector Bellerin impressing in the early minutes. It was Benik Afobe who created the first chance, however, with the striker bursting into a one-on-one position, only to be called offside by the linesman.
There were screams from the Arsenal fans just a few minutes later, as the cheers and chants that had gone on throughout the game turned to penalty appeals as Chuba Akpom, who was on one of his many mazy runs through the half, was broght down in the area, but the referee quickly dismissed any appeals.
The quality of the costless-kicks and set pieces in general from the Gunners was fairly poor. There were two chances from costless-kicks for Arsenal to take the lead, one in either half, with Aaron Ramsey's in the first and Abou Diaby's in the second both striking the wall.
The most promising player in the second half was undoubtedly Chuba Akpom, his bursting runs through the defence causing nothing but trouble for Boreham Wood, as they found it difficult to keep the youngster under control. With just over an hour gone, their inability to contain him almost cost them dearly, as he squeezed his way past a number of players before hitting a powerful shot at the goal, which was eventually palmed away by the goalkeeper.
The deadlock was finally broken after 67 minutes, as an exquisite through ball from the experienced Tomáš Rosický was met by young Swede Kristoffer Olsson, lofted the ball over a hapless James Russell and into the net. A perfectly executed pass from Rosický, with outstanding vision from both him and Olsson to make the run into the open space and finish.
There wasn't much action in Arsenal's half in the second set of 45 minutes, as the hosts failed to register a shot on goal, with Damián Martínez barely getting a touch on the ball. Akpom was still proving difficult to manage, more pacy bursts causing trouble, though most of the opportunities created came to nothing.
As the game reached its climax, it was Arsenal who scored the second and most crucial goal. Akpom's darting run meant that he found a way to play the ball through to Benik Afobe, who was hauled down in the area. A penalty was awarded, and Afobe dusted himself down and coolly slotted the ball home from the spot.
Full-time: Boreham Wood 0-2 Arsenal
With that, the game played out the final two or three minutes with no action. No added time at the end of either half, and it was Arsenal who left the ground as the happier team. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, had a lot to say about the game itself, as well as some transfer talk and looking forward to the new season:
'For us, it's important that we could give everybody a run out here. We wanted to test the young players to see how close they are to the Premier League, and to test the fitness levels of the more experienced players who are used to playing in the Premier League'.
'I'm very happy with what I could do until now (in the transfer window), but the window isn't over yet, we still have a long way to go. I can't mention any names, because you're never sure, but we're always out there to strengthen the squad. It creates competition, especially with the likes of Diaby, Chamberlain and Wilshere being injured last season, making it harder for them to integrate into the side'.
'I will bring in a goalkeeper for sure. I cannot guarantee Thomas (Vermaelen) future, but if he does leave, we will definitely be bringing in another centre-back, for sure. Some people decide that we do our business late in other seasons, but some of the players you want don't become available until very late (Özil) and you just can't control that'.
Next up in Arsenal's pre-season run is a trip to New York to face Thierry Henry's New York Red Bulls side. It will be the second time that the former Arsenal legend has faced the Gunners in the shirt of the Red Bulls, having played in the Emirates Cup against them in 2011.
The resulting games to bring Arsenal's pre-season to a close include two friendlies against Benfica and AS Monaco in the Emirates Cup, with Alexis Sánchez and Mathieu Debuchy expected to make their debuts for the club. The traditional season curtain-raiser involves Arsenal for the first time in nine years, as they face Manchester City for the Community Shield final on August 10th, before the league season finally gets underway against Crystal Palace six days later.
