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Arsenal concluded their preseason activities as they travelled to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona in the final of the Joan Gamper trophy.
The Joan Gamper trophy is an annual exhibition football match played in August of every year, named after Joan Gamper who was a former president and founding member of Barcelona.
The 2019 edition was the 54th staging of the tournament, with Barcelona running out 2-1 victors over Premier League side Arsenal.
The Gunners would return to competitive action when they travel to face Newcastle in the Premier League, while Barcelona would take on Napoli on Thursday before kicking off their LaLiga title defense with a trip to Athletic Bilbao.
In a game which was highly entertaining from start to finish, both clubs gave their all to win on the night, but the home team ultimately prevailed. In this piece, we shall be highlighting three talking points from the match.
#3 Arsenal fans have reason to be optimistic ahead of next season
The last decade has been an emotional roller coaster for fans of Arsenal, as they had to watch on in horror as their once unbeatable team faltered and got overtaken by clubs previously beneath them.
The departure of Arsene Wenger at the end of the 2018 season ushered in a new era, but despite starting promisingly, ghosts of yesteryears came back to haunt The Gunners and they missed out on Champions League qualification for the third season in a row having been in prime position with just few weeks left.
Unai Emery's second season in charge offers a chance to rectify last season's disappointment, and the capture of Nicolas Pepe for a club record fee helped improve team morale.
The 24-year-old was exceptional for Lille in Ligue 1 last season, and it is expected that he would bring his explosiveness with him to The Emirates.
Though the Ivorian international did not make his bow against Barcelona and Lacazette is still out injured, there was still more than enough on display at the Nou Camp to give fans optimism.
Aubameyang showed that he is rearing to go after winning the Golden Boot last season, opening the deadlock with an exquisite finish; receiving the ball with his back to goal, turning Alba inside out before calmly slotting past Neto.
However, it was Mesut Ozil's pin-point pass that split the Barcelona defense and paved the way for his Gabonese teammate to put Arsenal ahead and fans would have been delighted with his performance not just against Barcelona but overall in preseason.
Things have not really gone to plan for Ozil in the last few seasons particularly last term where he found himself out of Emery's lineup on occasion and there were indications that the club was willing to let him leave.
However, the former German international has explicitly stated that he is going nowhere and returned to preseason earlier than others in a bid to fight for his spot.
He has been nothing short of phenomenal in all of Arsenal's preseason games till date, showing a hunger which had been lacking in previous years and willing to track back and help his team's cause.
On the strength of his performance during preseason, Ozil staked a serious claim to being a regular next season, and if he performs at the level expected of him, with the quality of attackers in front of him, there could be no stopping Arsenal next season.
Also see : Durand Cup, Durand Cup Schedule, Calcutta Football League.
#2 Defensive lapses still remain
For all of the attacking impetus shown by Arsenal during preseason, doubts have always lingered over their defense and this proved to be the case once again against Barcelona.
The Blaugrana came out all guns blazing in the second half, seeking an equalizer and in multiple scenes that would have scared Arsenal fans, the Gunners defense seemed incapable of handling the pressure, being caught out of position multiple times, inviting pressure on themselves by giving the ball away in dangerous areas.
Giving their shaky display at the back, there was always the feeling that Arsenal was an error away from handing Barcelona the initiative and that moment came in the 69th minute when Ainsley Maitland-Niles put the ball into the back of his own net.
The 21-year-old received a harmless ball on the edge of the box and tried to play a simple back pass to Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal; but in an absolute shocker, he overhit the ball and neither the goalkeeper nor Sokratis could prevent the ball from trickling into the back of the net.
Just like that, Barcelona were back in the game, and they went on to snatch a very late winner when Luis Suarez volleyed with seconds to spare to hand Barcelona her 42nd triumph in the Joan Gamper trophy.
Going forward, Arsenal have arguably the best attacking trident in the Premier League; but it is in defense where their problems persist and this could ultimately cost them in their quest for glory next season.
#1 Barcelona midfield conundrum for Valverde
Over the years, Barcelona have made a name for themselves as a team boasting immense talent in the middle of the park.
Frenkie de Jong's addition has increased competition for places, and with the displays by his midfielders over the course of preseason, Ernesto Valverde would have a hard time selecting his preferred trio.
Against Arsenal, Ivan Rakitic, Frenkie de Jong and youngster Riqui Puig started and all three men impressed, helping Barcelona control proceedings and dominate possession.
The latter is a La Masia product and is expected to play a key role this season, and when you consider that other young players like Carlos Alena and Oriol Busquets are also on the periphery of the squad, you realize the enormity of Barcelona's problem.
Arthur is also another player who impressed last season, while Sergio Busquets is a sure starter and Arturo Vidal and Rafinha are still on the books.
Barcelona have at least nine players competing for limited slots available in midfield, and it is in light of this that Valverde stated that selling off midfielders could be a priority given the intense competition for places.
Those players appear to be Vidal, Rakitic and Rafinha and while the Premier League window would be closing in a few days time, the Catalans still have until the end of the month to get rid of them.
In other developments, Lionel Messi was back with the squad and although he did not take to the field of play, he addressed the crowd after the match in his role as captain.
However, unlike this time last season where he promised (and failed) to bring the Champions League trophy to Nou Camp, there were no grandiose vows this time although he did state that he did not regret making those statements last year.
