– Barcelona vs Arsenal finished 2-1 in favour of the La Liga giants
– Luis Suarez scored Barca’s winner at stoppage time to render Aubameyang’s first half strike a mere consolation
– The match was Arsenal’s last in the pre-season ahead of the 2019/20 campaign
Luis Suarez came off the bench to score late as Barcelona marched to a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Camp Nou to lift the Joan Gamper Trophy on Sunday, August 4 – an annual curtain raiser for the La Liga side.
Arsenal came into the match having had a mixed friendly fixture list in their pre-season, recording wins over Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Colorado Rapids, draws with Real Madrid and Angers and a defeat to Lyon in the Emirates Cup.
The Camp Nou trip however saw Gunners’ record signing Nicolas Pepe fail to earn a call up, with fellow summer signings Dani Ceballos and Gabriel Martinelli joining the travelling party.
Unai Emery went on to name a strong side to face the Catalan giants, as Mkhitaryan, Ozil, and Aubameyang all made the starting line up.
The selection paid off in the 36th minute as Aubameyang fired the visitors into the lead with an absolute worldie after beating Neto who was in goal for Barca from 18 yards.
The first half saw Emery’s men head into the break the better side, forcing Barca boss Ernesto Valverde to ring a couple of changes upon the resumption of hostilities in the second half.
Ter Stegan, Todibo, Lenglet, Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Alena and Rafinha were all introduced for the second stanza, making an instant impact as they suffocated Arsenal’s backline with lethal attacking.
The pressure saw Maitland-Niles direct the ball into his own net after attempting a back pass to Leno who was nowhere near the goal-line.
With just minutes to end the match, Suarez volleyed home a spectacular winner as Barca claimed a record 42nd Joan Gamper Trophy.
Arsenal now shift their focus to the Premier League where they will face Newcastle United in their league opener.
Source: Tuko
