📝 Arsenal 5-1 PSG: Lacazette and Özil net in Gunners victory | OneFootball

Arsenal impressed with a convincing 5-1 victory against PSG on Saturday as manager Unai Emery got the better of his former club in Singapore.

The Gunners took the lead through Mesut Özil after just 12 minutes as the German slotted home in acres of space after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played the ball square.

However, PSG then levelled the score in the second half as Christopher Nkunku confidently coverted from the spot past substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez after Weah was brought down by Sead Kolašinac in the penalty area.

Alexandre Lacazette then restored the Gunners advantage just seconds after coming on, running across the front post and hitting Emile Smith Rowe’s right wing cross onto the bar and into the net; though on closer inspection it may have taken a nick off the PSG defender.

The striker then extended the lead with his second goal just minutes later, heading home after Gianluigi Buffon’s punched clearance landed perfectly for him to score.

Centre-back Rob Holding later added a fourth, soaring high to head home a late corner and directing it into the top corner to leave Rémy Descamps with no chance before Eddie Nketiah put the gloss on a fine display, keeping his cool to shoot the ball low into the net in the final minute of stoppage-time.

ARSENAL 3-1 PSG

1-0: Özil 12′

1-1: Nkunku 60′ (pen)

2-1: Lacazette 67′

3-1: Lacazette 71′

4-1: Holding 86′

5-1: Nketiah 90+3′

Considering this was a pre-season friendly, the game started quite frantically. Within the first five minutes, Timothy Weah ran onto a neat ball from Adrien Rabiot after strong running from the Frenchman down the left but Bernd Leno was quick to rush out and gather from the striker’s toe.

Azzeddine Toufiqui then had the first clear chance of the game as he bent the ball with his left foot from the corner of the area but his effort sailed wide.

Shkodran Mustafi then climbed highest for Arsenal but his glancing header missed the far post. However, Arsenal then took the lead after just 12 minutes as Ozil found himself in acres of space in the area and slotted the past the despairing Gianluigi Buffon after being rolled in by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The pair had all the time in the world and punished the French with ease.

The German then dummied the ball for himself with an impressive piece of skill but was denied by the recovering PSG backline.

On 17 minutes Özil was again in the thick of the action and was felled by a fairly innocuous challenge. The penalty claims were waved away and rightly so.

Five minutes later Alex Iwobi was clean through on goal and looked to double Arsenal’s advantage but was denied by a smart Buffon save at the near post.

Toufiqui then replicated his earlier effort but went closer still, bring a cautious dive from Leno who watched the ball sail narrowly shy of the goal.

New boy Mattéo Guendouzi got Arsenal fans out of their seats midway through the half with an exquisite pass from inside his own half to tee up Aubameyang who jinked in and then away from the defender but his shot was stopped by Buffon who patted it away.

Weah produced a cover flick his father, George, would have been proud of, but Sokratis was across and went to ground to block the effort.

Nkunku later went mightly close with an impressive, curling shot with his right foot. It had Leno beaten but flew over the bar.

A minute later Henrikh Mkhitaryan – again the PSG defence leaving acres of space in behind – was through on goal but his strike was denied by Buffon.

Hector Bellerin was then floored and took a whack to the face after Stanley Nsoki miscued a header. The resulting free-kick was floated in by Özil  but Mustafi headed wide.

After a slow start to the second half, PSG levelled the scores after Weah was brought down in the box by Sead Kolašinac. Young midfielder Nkunku stepped up and confidently dispatched the ball past substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.

Unai Emery then made a host of changes which paid dividends immediately. Just seconds after coming on Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith Rowe combined to restore Arsenal’s lead. The French striker ran to the neat post and fired home Smith Rowe’s accurate right wing cross.

Lacazette then headed a second just minutes later after the ball landed nicely following Buffon’s punch from Ramsey’s ball high across the box.

The Gunners then looked in control for the final twenty minutes after an impressive performance in which they took their chances before Rob Holding soared through the air and netted the fourth with a looping header which flew into the top corner.

Eddie Nketiah scored Arsenal’s fifth in injury-time, keeping his cool to neatly slot the ball into the corner of the net with virtually the last kick of the game.

Arsenal now prepare to face Chelsea in Dublin before hosting champions Manchester City in their Premier League opener.