Chamakh Scores First as Arsenal Hangs On

Arsenal had their hands full in their last friendly of the pre-season.  The EPL kicks off next week and Arsenal will travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool in their first match.  The Gunners were looking to tune-up their fitness and give Arsene Wenger a better idea of his 25-man first team.
Legia Warsaw, who are in fourth place in the Ekstraklasa, have four months to play in their season.  This put them at an advantage over the Gunners, who still don't have starters Fabregas, van Persie, and Almunia, who are just back from World Cup duty (with Fabregas and Almunia victorious with Spain over van Persie's Holland).  Legia took full advantage of this by scoring first in the 17' when Cabral unleashed a monster from the top of the box.  Fabianski, who started in goal, had no chance.
The home side, opening a brand new stadium, nabbed the second goal in the 33' when a ball that ricocheted in the area off Arsenal's Koscielny went in for an own goal. 2-0.
Jedrzejczyk (say that fast five times) scored in the 36' to put Legia up 3-0 on their powerhouse guests.
Arsenal finally kicked into gear in the 38' when Samir Nasri launched a freekick in that found the head of MAROUANE CHAMAKH!!! GOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!  His superb heading skills gave the Legia keeper and defenders no chance.  It was nice to pull one back before halftime, with the score now 3-1.

Arsene Wenger made a few changes at the half.  Those changes proved fruitful as Emmaneul Eboue scored in the 52' and then again in the 60'.  The Gunners were now level at 3-3.  Kieran Gibbs added another in the 63' to put Arsenal on top 3-4.  But Legia wasn't backing down and Polish mouthful Jedrzejczyk (I'm sure to most Poles that this name is as easy as Johnson...) bagged his second to level the score again at 4-4.  But Arsenal had more in the tank.  Chamakh was subbed out along with Wilshere in the 72'.  Chamakh's replacement, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored in the 81' and Samir Nasri scored from a freekick in the 84'.  The scoreline was now 4-6 Arsenal, and Nasri's goal was well-deserved for his spirited play throughout the match.  He was by far the best player on the pitch today.
Legia found a late goal in the 90' but it wasn't enought to top the EPL contenders.  Final score 5-6.  Arsenal will have to sort out the defensive issues if they want to make a run for the Barclay's title.  Giving up 5 goals, even to a fit mid-season team, is never a good sign.

Chamakh scores against AC Milan

The good news is that Nasri is on form, and Chamakh is now 3-3 in pre-season games.  Selected by Arsenal fans as the Man of the Match vs. AC Milan, his heading skills will be necessary to score against more physical EPL defenders.  I think he's up for the task!