Orlando City vs. Arsenal (Wednesday, 7:45 p.m. ET)
Pregame Spread: Arsenal -2 (-130) | Orlando City +2 (-110)
The stage was set for four Premier League teams to travel to the United States for their preseason kickoff. The Orlando faithful are treated to not one but two kickoff classics. The first is a head-to-head matchup between the MLS Eastern Conference’s Orlando City and the EPL top five hopeful, Arsenal, at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fl. The second is a clash between the top five teams, Chelsea and Arsenal, at Camping World Stadium.
The kickoff was initially set for 7:30 p.m. ET. However, after inclement weather in the area, the game was delayed to 8:45 p.m. This didn’t stop football fans from piling on the streets of Downtown Orlando. They surged towards the gates hoping to beat the rain and, for many, see their club play in person for the first time.
Per stadium rule, the spectators were to remain in the corridor during bad weather. While gathering around shoulder to shoulder, fans ate, drank, and chatted. The anticipation from the spectators waiting to be admitted into the seating section could be felt anywhere you went. Despite how crowded and hot the spectators were while stuck waiting, a sense of joy covered the crowd. Some chanted, and others stood patient. It’s not every day a top-flight EPL team enters the building. It might just be a preseason match, but it was also a celebration of football.
The Game:
The whistle finally sounded for the opening kickoff, and the nearly full stadium stood and cheered. Those who didn’t let the rain turn them away lifted their voices loud enough to shake the stadium. It was pure quality from the opening whistle. The opening 25 minutes were frantic end to end action.
Arsenal struck first in the fifth minute after Gabriel Martinelli‘s shot was deflected into the back of Orlando City’s net. Again, the cheers were loud; even the Orlando City faithful seemed to appreciate the early goal. The energy was high, with both Arsenal and Orlando City Supporters on their feet. They were lifting their clubs to high levels.
It wasn’t long before Orlando City were knocking on the door themselves. There were a few missed chances for the Lions. However, in the 29th minute, Orlando City caught Arsenal on the break, and the 22-year-old Uraguan international Facundo Torres found the back of the net.
The two sides went into the locker room level 1-1 at the half. Orlando City could hang their heads high by hanging with one of the World’s most prominent clubs for an entire 45 minutes. The draw at the half was a win for them. With the six games in 18 days, it was predetermined that Orlando City would sit the major of their key players and rotate some youngsters in the second half.
The problem for Orlando City was while they got considerably worse by the substitutions made in the second half, Arsenal got better. The insertion of Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka made the match-up practically unfair. The second-half pressure against the rotated Orlando side was too much. Arsenal scored goals in the 66th (Edward Nketiah) and 80th (Reiss Nelson) minutes.
Arsenal Takeaway:
A 3-1 final was deserved and well respected by both sides. Clearly, there were players on the Gunners who need this preseason to get back into match shape. With many new offseason additions, players like Nuno Tavares will have to work themselves into the XI. It will be exciting to see how Oleksandr Zinchenko can help refocus that defense. Pairing Jesus and Saka with Martinelli and a healthy Martin Odegaard should make their offense lethal. It’s been quite a while since Arsenal have had a striker with the quality of Jesus. It’s just a preseason friendly, but Arsenal fans should be happy with what they saw.
