2007 Emirates Cup

2007 File:Winning the Emirates Cup.jpg 28 – 29 July England 4 1 1 1 Arsenal 1 Paris Saint-Germain Valencia Inter Milan 4 11 Péguy Luyindula(2 goals) 2008 London The 2007 Emirates Cup was the inaugural pre-season men's association football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal. It took place at the club's home ground, the Emirates Stadium during the weekend of 28 July and 29 July 2007. The idea of a pre-season competition staged at Arsenal first came about during the 2006–07 season; once planning was complete, the club invited three other European clubs to participate in the event: Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia. The latter club replaced Hamburg as the German side had Intertoto Cup commitments. The competition follows a point scoring system much like the Amsterdam Tournament, whereby each team plays two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point is awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Valencia, and Inter did not play against Paris Saint-Germain. On the first day of the Emirates Cup, Valencia beat Inter Milan by two goals, while Arsenal defeated Paris Saint-Germain 2–1. Valencia's loss to Paris Saint-Germain on day two meant Arsenal needed to beat Inter Milan in order to finish top of the group. They went a goal behind in the second half, but goals from Alexander Hleb and Robin van Persie secured the cup win. The tournament was well attended with over 110,000 filling the Emirates Stadium across the two-day tournament.http://www.emirates.com/gh/english/about/news/news_detail.aspx?article=325572 Emirates Cup brings out the big guns Emirates 21 April 2008 18 June 2016 https://archive.today/20160804124120/http://www.emirates.com/gh/english/about/news/news_detail.aspx?article=325572 4 August 2016 dead dmy-all Background In March 2007 Arsenal announced their intention to stage a pre-season competition at their home ground, the Emirates Stadium. Managing director Keith Edelman revealed plans were at an exploratory stage, and added: "It would be in pre-season, around late July, and tickets would be reasonably priced. We feel it could be a really exciting event."Richard Clarke http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/pre-season-tournament-planned-for-emirates Pre-season tournament planned for Emirates Arsenal F.C. 29 March 2007 18 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160629185552/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/pre-season-tournament-planned-for-emirates 2016-06-29 dead Details of the tournament were formally announced five weeks later, with Italian champions Inter Milan, French side Paris Saint-Germain and German outfit Hamburg confirmed as participants.http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=news&article=463700&cpid=703&title=Emirates+Stadium+to+host+pre-season+tournament https://web.archive.org/web/20070503021532/http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=news&article=463700&cpid=703&title=Emirates%2BStadium%2Bto%2Bhost%2Bpre-season%2Btournament Emirates Stadium to host pre-season tournament Arsenal F.C. 1 May 2007 17 June 2016 3 May 2007 dead Hamburg's qualification into the Intertoto Cup however meant they withdrew from the competition; the club were subsequently replaced by Spain's Valencia.http://www.arsenal.com/155/unhoused-import-pages/latest-stadium-news/valencia-replace-hamburg-at-emirates-cup Valencia replace Hamburg at Emirates Cup Arsenal F.C. 11 June 2007 18 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160629213201/http://www.arsenal.com/155/unhoused-import-pages/latest-stadium-news/valencia-replace-hamburg-at-emirates-cup 2016-06-29 dead The two-day competition was televised live in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports.http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/11A9A1311480DB08?p=UKNB The week ahead The Guardian London 23 July 2007 9 July 2016 Summary Inter Milan faced Valencia in the opening match of the tournament; manager Roberto Mancini named an experienced Inter team that included defender Marco Materazzi and forward Zlatan Ibrahimović.Clark Adam 28 July 2007 Emirates Cup: Inter Milan 0–2 Valencia http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-inter-milan-0-2-valencia dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141459/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-inter-milan-0-2-valencia 14 July 2014 14 July 2016 Arsenal F.C. Valencia began the much the stronger of the two, and went ahead in the 13th minute when Jaime Gavilán scored. The midfielder had received the ball from a cross, and managed to guide it under goalkeeper Francesco Toldo. Referee Alan Kelly turned down Inter Milan's appeals for a penalty, when a challenge by Valencia defender Iván Helguera had caused Luís Figo to tumble in the area. Inter nearly equalised through Maxwell as his effort hit the post, but conceded their second goal of the match minutes before the interval. Materazzi fouled David Villa outside the penalty area, and his deflected free-kick sailed into the net. Substitutions for both sides in the second half led to further chances, all of which came to nothing. thumb|right|250px|Robin van Persie scored Arsenal's winning goal against Inter Milan. The hosts Arsenal played Paris Saint-Germain in the later game. Although the visitors dominated play in the first 45 minutes, they went behind at the cusp of half-time, when Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini scored.Clarke Richard 28 July 2007 Emirates Cup: Arsenal 2–1 Paris S-G http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-arsenal-2-1-paris-s-g-report dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141459/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-inter-milan-0-2-valencia 14 July 2014 14 July 2016 Arsenal F.C. He collected the ball from Nicklas Bendtner and his first-time shot went in off the post. Wenger tweaked his team's formation after the break from their customary 4–4–2 to 4–4–1–1 and made five changes to his team. He positioned right-back Emmanuel Eboué as a midfielder, and Alexander Hleb behind Bendtner. Arsenal's performance improved in the second half and they doubled their lead through Bendtner in the 70th minute.https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-emirates-idUKL2814887420070728?edition-redirect=uk Arsenal see off PSG in Emirates Cup Reuters 28 July 2007 14 July 2016 Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia immediately denied Pauleta with a stretching save at the far post, but could not prevent Péguy Luyindula from scoring. Arsenal held on to win by two goals. On the second day of the tournament Paris Saint-Germain beat Valencia by three goals.http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-28717220070729 Van Persie wins Emirates Cup for Arsenal Reuters 29 July 2007 14 July 2016 8 August 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180808204429/https://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-28717220070729 dead The French club had made five changes to the side that lost against Arsenal,Clark Adam 29 July 2007 Emirates Cup: Paris S-G 3–0 Valencia http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-paris-s-g-3-0-valencia dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041959/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-paris-s-g-3-0-valencia 24 September 2015 14 July 2016 Arsenal F.C. which worked to their favour as Amara Diané and David Ngog each scored inside 30 minutes. Valencia struggled to match their opponents' intensity, though remained a threat with Fernando Morientes' arrival in the second half. The match was settled with five minutes remaining of normal time; Luyindula, on as a substitute, received a pass from Loris Arnaud which drew goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand out of his area and allowed the French striker to tap the ball into an empty net. Needing to beat Inter Milan to win the Emirates Cup, Arsenal failed to take the initiative and went behind after 62 minutes. William Gallas' negligence to spot the incoming David Suazo meant the Inter striker was able to head the ball past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.Richard Clarke http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/0708emirates-cup-arsenal-2-1-inter-milan-match-report Emirates Cup: Arsenal 2–1 Inter Milan Arsenal F.C. 29 July 2007 14 July 2016 Arsenal regrouped quickly and scored five minutes later; a well-worked move between Eboué and Bacary Sagna set Hleb up to shoot, but his effort was saved by Toldo. The ball rebounded to the Arsenal midfielder, whose second shot went into the far corner. Near the end of normal time Robin van Persie scored a "wonder goal" to secure the win.Dominic Fifield https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/jul/30/newsstory.arsenal Van Persie shows there is life at Arsenal after Henry The Guardian London 30 July 2007 14 July 2016 Collecting a long pass from Eboué, the striker weaved past his opponent and dragged the ball back, before hitting it high into the far corner. Wenger said of Van Persie's winner: "It was a great goal but I'm pleased we had a great team performance. As a team I think we played very well and that is most important."http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-the-team-spirit-is-absolutely-fantastic Wenger – The team spirit is absolutely fantastic Arsenal F.C. 29 July 2007 14 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160809102244/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-the-team-spirit-is-absolutely-fantastic 9 August 2016 dead dmy-all Standings Each team plays two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored.http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-competition-rules-regulations Emirates Cup – Competition rules & regulations Arsenal F.C. 27 July 2007 9 July 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160629192336/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/emirates-cup-competition-rules-regulations 2016-06-29 dead main WDL ARS Arsenal PSG Paris Saint-Germain VAL Valencia INT Inter Milan 2 0 0 4 2 1 0 1 4 2 1 0 1 2 3 0 0 2 1 4 4 4 2 1 gold C complete Saaid 2015 Matches Day 1 28 July 200714:00 BST Inter Milan 0–2 Valencia Report Gavilán 13Villa 39 Emirates Stadium, London 55,106 Alan Kelly 28 July 200716:15 BST Arsenal 2–1 Paris Saint-Germain Report Flamini 45Bendtner 70 Luyindula 80 Emirates Stadium, London 55,106 Peter Walton Day 2 29 July 200714:00 BST Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 Valencia Report Diane 15Ngog 30Luyindula 85 Emirates Stadium, London 59,821 Andre Marriner 29 July 200716:15 BST Arsenal 2–1 Inter Milan Report Hleb 67Van Persie 85 Suazo 62 Emirates Stadium, London 59,821 Mark Halsey Goalscorers thumb|right|250px|Peguy Luyindula was the tournament's topscorer, with two goals. RankNameTeamGoals1FRA Péguy LuyindulaParis Saint-Germain22DEN Nicklas BendtnerArsenal1CIV Amara DianeParis Saint-GermainFRA Mathieu FlaminiArsenalESP Jaime GavilánValenciaBLR Alexander HlebArsenalFRA David NgogParis Saint-GermainHON David SuazoInter MilanNED Robin van PersieArsenalESP David VillaValencia References General Hamdan Saaid https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/emiratescup07.html Emirates Cup 2007 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) 10 September 2015 9 July 2016 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160305003947/http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/emiratescup07.html 5 March 2016 Specific External links http://www.arsenal.com/emiratescup 2007 Emirates Cup Category:2007–08 in English men's football Category:2007–08 in French men's football Category:2007–08 in Spanish men's football Category:2007–08 in Italian football Category:2007 in sport in London Category:July 2007 sports events in the United Kingdom