2010 Emirates Cup

It was the fourth Emirates Cup, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 31 July and 1 August 2010, the participants were Arsenal, Lyon, Milan, and Celtic.

2010 Emirates Cup

Action between Arsenal and Milan on the first day of the tournament.
Tournament details
Host country	England
City	London
Dates	31 July – 1 August
Teams	4 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Arsenal (3rd title)
Runners-up	Lyon
Third place	Celtic
Fourth place	Milan
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	13 (3.25 per match)
Top scorer(s)	13 players (1 goal)
← 2009 2011 →

The Emirates Cup follows a point scoring system similar to 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. Like previous editions, in 2010 an additional point was awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Lyon, and Celtic did not play against Milan. The first day saw Celtic come from two goals down to draw against Lyon. Marouane Chamakh scored on his home Arsenal debut, but it was not enough to secure a win as Alexandre Pato equalised for Milan in the second half. Arsenal retained the Emirates Cup on the final day as they beat Celtic. Lyon finished second after a 1–1 draw with fourth-place Milan, leaving Celtic in the third spot.

The Emirates Cup began in July 2007 once Arsenal finalised plans to stage a pre-season competition at its home ground. Named after Arsenal's main sponsor Emirates, the competition's inaugural edition was attended by more than 110,000 people across the two days.

Scottish club Celtic, Italian side Milan and French outfit Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) were confirmed as participants for the 2010 edition, alongside hosts Arsenal. Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis described the Emirates Cup as "one of the world's most prestigious pre-season tournaments", and added in a statement: "I'm sure all supporters are looking forward to the weekend, which not only offers the opportunity to watch two top quality matches each day, but of course, also provides the teams with a high level of preparation ahead of the forthcoming season." Coverage of the two-day event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.

 

The tournament got underway on 31 July 2010; Celtic faced Lyon in the day’s first match. Celtic manager Neil Lennon fielded a relatively strong side, led by striker Gary Hooper, while opposing coach Claude Puel started striker Alexandre Lacazette and midfielder Clément Grenier, and left first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on the substitutes' bench. Celtic's big crowd saw their side struggle to dictate play, though striker Marc-Antoine Fortune had the game’s first real chance when his header hit the side-netting. Harry Novillo and Kim Källström had chances blocked, before Lyon took the lead in the 28th minute. Celtic conceded a free kick on the right, and from 25 yards out Michel Bastos hit a shot which flew past goalkeeper Łukasz Załuska. Early in the second half Lyon made it 2–0; Grenier slotted a through ball past the Celtic defence which reached Lacazette. The French forward cut the ball back to Novillo whose one-touch deflected off a Celtic player and into the net. Both sides subsequently made a number of substitutions, at which point Lyon came close to scoring a third but for Jeremy Pied's mishit. Celtic continued to press forward and were rewarded when Hooper volleyed in a cross from James Forrest. The comeback was completed in stoppage time, as substitute Georgios Samaras headed in Charlie Mulgrew's free kick.

Later in the day the Arsenal played Milan. Striker Marouane Chamakh made his home debut for the hosts having joined on a free transfer from Bordeaux earlier in the summer. Arsène Wenger also named defender Laurent Koscielny, who partnered stand-in captain Thomas Vermaelen in central defence. Midfielder Mathieu Flamini started against his former side. Arsenal began intently, and Vermaelen nearly broke the deadlock with a header on target in the 21st minute. Flamini's strike moments later forced Łukasz Fabiański to make a save. In spite of this, Arsenal largely dealt with Milan’s threat in the first half. Chamakh scored the opening goal minutes before the interval, as he finished off Andrey Arshavin's cross. Alexandre Pato levelled the score in the second half, heading in Clarence Seedorf's free kick. Arsenal's Mark Randall and Milan's Gianluca Zambrotta had chances to win the match for their respective sides, but their shots went wide and the score remained 1–1 at the final whistle.

On the second and final day of the tournament, Milan took on Lyon. Despite a goalless first half, both sides enjoyed spells of possession and fashioned opportunities to score. The game energised after the break as Milan took the lead through Marco Borriello's goal. Jimmy Briand equalised for Lyon in the 79th minute, and the match ended all square. Arsenal versus Celtic was the day's late match. The hosts started strongly after Carlos Vela scored inside three minutes, and extended their lead just before half time when Bacary Sagna hit a shot from long distance. Samir Nasri made it 3–0 in the 51st minute, and despite Celtic's late rally, Arsenal ended 3–2 winners. Midfielder Jack Wilshere was picked out as Arsenal's key player for the game by The Guardian's match reporter Sachin Nakrani, who wrote: "During the first-half in particular, the 18-year-old was magnificent, showing a level of control and composure that defied belief given his youth. At times, Celtic's own midfielders could not get near the teenager as he glided through them."

Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored. Total shots on target over two days were used as a tiebreaker, if teams were tied on points, goal difference and goals scored.

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