Arsenal vs PSG - LIVE: Latest score, goals and updates from International Champions Cup as Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette score
Follow live coverage of the International Champions Cup 2018 clash
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal’s pre-season continues with an International Champions Cup clash against French champions Paris Saint-Germain today.
Unai Emery’s team will be hoping to bounce back after a 3-1 penalty shootout defeat by Atletico Madrid earlier this week, after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
PSG will likely pose a similarly tough test, with former Arsenal managerial target Unai Emery in the dugout.
Follow live coverage of the fixture below.
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When is the match?
The match kicks-off at 12.35pm BST on Saturday 28 July.
Where is it taking place?
The Singapore National Stadium – located in, you guessed it, Singapore – will host the exhibition.
Where can I watch it?
Premier Sports will show the match live.
And here's his second, because it gives me another excuse to embed a picture of the wonderfully hirsute Guendouzi:
Guendouzi proving a first-team challenger
The arrival of the young France Under-19 international raised questions over what his immediate future would look like: would he slot into the youth ranks, would he go out on loan, could he make the first team? From what we’ve seen in pre-season, it very much looks like the latter will be the case.
The 19-year-old looked assured on the ball deep in his own territory, with Arsenal keen to play out from the back, and he also had no issue with dropping deep into the back four whenever PSG were on the attack.
He also displayed an eye for a pass going forward, with his ball from deep inch-perfect for Aubameyang to sprint on to. At such a tender age, Guendouzi should be given time to develop into his true potential, but from what we’ve seen so far he looks to have a bright future.
Anddd here are the next three, for the sake of completion.
Aubameyang pace favours Arsenal counter
Arsenal didn’t see the best of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season as his playing time was limited due to being cup-tied in the Europa League – the competition that Wenger favoured with his best players instead of the Premier League. But after a summer’s rest, the Gabon international looks ready to fire on full cylinders.
This was none clearer than when he was given space to run in to – largely thanks to the high defensive line that PSG persisted with. The first chance he got lead to Arsenal’s opener, with Aubameyang squaring to Özil to tap past Gianluigi Buffon, while the second saw Matteo Guendouzi lob the ball over the PSG line and only a good save from Buffon prevented Arsenal from doubling their lead.
Arsenal defence yet to be truly tested
Arsenal’s defence has long been its issue, but it’s far too early to actually gage if there’s been any improvement under Emery yet. What looks certain is that Shkodran Mustafi will partner Sokratis Papastathopoulos while Laurent Koscielny remains injured for the rest of the calendar year, while Hector Bellerin looks to be in favour on the right.
Who starts at left-back between Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal looks up for grabs right now, with both putting in fairly solid performances in pre-season so far, but until Arsenal start to play teams with more strength in attack, it’s almost impossible to judge where this side currently is.
Little to learn from such a weak PSG side
While Arsenal were able to field a close-to-full-strength side, PSG looked a shadow of their usual selves. None of their World Cup-winning French contingent were available, while neither were Neymar and Thiago Silva, so it was up to the likes of Timothy Weah and Antoine Bernede to make up the numbers.
Of the side deployed in Singapore, it was only goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, defender Lassana Diarra and midfielder Adrien Rabiot that can expect regular first-team action this season, while Christopher Nkunku showed a few signs of why he is highly-rated in Ligue 1.
However, this will look nothing like the side that competes in their biggest Champions League games next season, and for new manager Thomas Tuchel, it is hard to judge where they are in their development.
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