Arsenal 2 Lazio 0: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reiss Nelson score as Unai Emery wins latest friendly
Gunners were in total control fresh off the back of their penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea
Sponsored by
ARSENAL fans got a first look at Lucas Torreira as Unai Emery put the finishing touches to his pre-season preparations.
The £26million Uruguayan international only started training with his new club on Monday after helping his country to the World Cup quarter-finals last month.
And he wasted no time making a winning impression in the holding midfield role alongside latest skipper Granit Xhaka.
Yet hopes that tiny Torreira is going to be the hard-man that Arsenal have been lacking for years look to be wide of the mark.
No-one could question his work-rate or eye for a pass in a tidy performance sitting deep and always making himself available to take possession.
But at just five feet six inches tall, he is no Patrick Vieira putting the fear of God into opponents with his sheer physical presence.
Instead it was left to fellow newcomer Stephan Lichtsteiner to provide the muscle as Emery made 11 changes to the team which beat Chelsea on penalties in Dublin on Wednesday night.
Swiss veteran Lichtsteiner might have won seven Italian titles in a row with Juventus, but even at 34 he still looks as though he has a point to prove.
It took him just two minutes of his Arsenal debut to make his mark when he infuriated Lazio full-back Stefan Radu with an elbow to the side of his head.
And he was involved in another row with rival skipper Senad Lulic shortly before being replaced by Hector Bellerin midway through the second-half.
Sign up for Dream Team 2018/19 now
- Dream Team is back and better than ever ahead of the new Premier League season
- Completely free to play
- £400k jackpot up for grabs across the season
Reiss Nelson’s 18th minute goal set the Gunners on their way, stabbing home from close range after Alex Iwobi’s shot had come back off the far post.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secured the victory in the 64th minute with a low shot through a crowd of defenders.
Yet Arsenal continued to look anything but water-tight at the back and were fortunate that toothless Lazio wasted a number of opportunities to punish them.
Arsenal kick off their Premier League season against Manchester City at home on August 12.
