Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger has insisted that his team is not in a desperate need of a new striker following their 6-0 win over Lyon.
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After a successful tour of Asia, Arsenal returned to England for the Emirates Cup, and they did so in some style. The Gunners hosted Lyon in the opening match of this annual preseason tournament and they thrashed the French club 6-0 in 90 minutes of scintillating football.
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 30th minute of the match, which commenced the nine-minute period in which the home side scored four goals. Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey, all got on the score-sheet before half-time. Mesut Ozil and substitute Santi Cazorla added two more in the second-half as Wengera s men rounded off a satisfying performance.
Arsene Wenger was full of praise after the match ended and believed his team has once again picked up the momentum they built in the second half of last season.
a It was a good, dynamic, collective performance where we could see that many players scored goals. Overall ita s in the continuity of what we did at the end of last season, and wea ve taken that form into pre-season as well. Therea s a good team dynamic and wea ve shown again that we can score goals, which is what everybody expects from us.a a The Arsenal manager said in his post-match press conference.
The Frenchman felt that his team is better prepared than last season as they dona t have to deal with post World Cup exhaustion.
a We have more cohesion than at the same period last year. Everybody has a better focus. Last year was a post-World Cup year and some players came back mentally exhausted. Hopefully we can take advantage of that this season.a a He added.
A lot of fans and critics feel that Arsenal need a new striker to mount a sustainable title challenge, and while Wenger is a open-mindeda about that, he feels that there is no urgent need for a new striker at the moment.
a Football is subtle. Ita s not mathematics. Therea s a logic in the game that means that you create chances when all of your quality players play for each other. Every game is different. I still say that after the game tonight we are open-minded but we are not in a desperate need, because we were missing Welbeck and Alexis who are big players. We did not have Wilshere who is a creative player as well. That means we have a good squad.
a It depends what you call a desperate need. When you score six goals, I concede that you dona t have a desperate need. We won the FA Cup final scoring four goals. We score goals, and thata s what I mean by that. We can create chances and we can score goals. We are open-minded but everybody is on the market. Many clubs have big, big budgets.a a Wenger added.
Mesut Ozil produced a fine performance yesterday, assisting two goals and scoring another. The German international, who has received a lot of criticism for under-performing early on in his Arsenal career, hit a patch of good form towards the end of last season. It seems the former Real Madrid star is back to his best now and Arsene Wenger hopes that he deliver next season.
a He missed the whole first part of the season last year and he came back to his best level in the second part of the season. Hopefully he can deliver a whole season now.
a He had a difficult start to the season but slowly, in the second part of the season, he won over our fans. Feeling the reaction now in the crowd, I feel that he has their support.a a He said.