Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid: Unai Emery’s side put in bright performance but come undone on penalties

Arsenal 1-1 Atletico Madrid (Atletico win 3-1 on penalties): Antonio Adan saved three of four penalties before stepping up to score the winner

Arsenal’s tour to Singapore may have been pinned on fans getting the chance to see the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in action.

However, here in the sweltering Far East heat, it was teenager Emile Smith Rowe who stole the show with a stunning goal in the second-half.

It was a 20-yard strike that any of Arsenal’s senior stars would have been proud of, and it proved to be the equaliser that ultimately led to this International Champions Cup match being decided by penalties after Luciano Vietto had given Atletico Madrid the lead.

Atletico ended up winning the shootout 3-1 after Antonio Adan scored the decisive kick, but it was Smith Rowe who everyone was talking about at the final whistle.

The 17-year-old got his chance to shine as head coach Unai Emery opted to rest returning World Cup players Alex Iwobi, Mohamed Elneny and Ozil.

The Spaniard did, however, add some strength to the spine of his team with Alexandre Lacazette and Aubameyang forming part of a front-three, Aaron Ramsey captaining the side in midfield and new signing Bernd Leno starting in goal.

Clearly eager to impress Emery, Arsenal started brightly and new arrival Matteo Guendouzi looked incredibly composed in the middle of the park for a 19-year-old, while fellow teenager Reiss Nelson was causing plenty of problems down the right.

(AP)

Arsenal completely dominated possession from the off and for the first 40 minutes goalkeeper Leno was merely another sweating spectator in the Singapore heat as he instead watched his opposite number, Jan Oblak, in action.

The Slovenian had a heroic 45 minutes in goal as he kept out Lacazette on three separate occasions with a string of good saves.

In a tale that was familiar of their story last season, Arsenal then proceeded to go behind against the run of play in the 42nd minute as Vietto opened the scoring.

(REUTERS)

The forward headed Atletico in front after Angel Correa had wrestled past Sead Kolasinac on the right and picked him out with a fizzed cross.

Arsenal responded perfectly, though, and in stunning fashion, as straight after the break Smith Rowe showed just why he is so highly thought of by the club’s coaching staff.

Picking the ball up around 25 yards from goal, the teenager drove forward and arrowed the ball into the top corner. Substitute goalkeeper Adan, who had been on for two minutes, had no chance.

Arsenal were still looking shaky at the back, however, and it took a smart save from substitute Petr Cech and then a stunning block to ensure it remained 1-1 with half an hour to go.

(REUTERS)

With the usual raft of pre-season substitutions – Arsenal made eight in one go, Atletico seven – the game lost its momentum and went to penalties with the teams level at 90 minutes.

It was a nervy start to the shootout as four of the first six penalties were missed, with only Atletico’s Rodri and Ainsley Maitland-Niles finding the net – both with delightful dinks.

Victor Mollejo then fired Atletico in front and, after Arsenal substitute Eddie Nketiah had his effort saved, substitute goalkeeper Adan scored to secure the victory.

Teams

Arsenal (4-4-3): Leno (’45 Cech); Bellerin (’62 Osei-Tutu), Mustafi (’62 Chambers), Holding (’62 Papastathopoulos), Kolasinac; Smith Rowe (’62 Mavropanos), Guendouzi (’75 Willock), Ramsey (’62 Maitland-Niles); Nelson (’62 Perez), Lacazette (’62 Nketiah), Aubameyang (’62 Mkhitaryan).

Atletico Madrid: Oblak (’45 Adan); Juanfran (’74 Carro), Moya (’74 Rodriguez), Montero (’74 Punal), Olabe (’74 Solano) Correa, Rodri, Partey (’74 Mollejo), Munoz (’64 Pinchi); Gameiro (’74 Isaac), Vietto (’74 Garces).