International Champions Cup: Gunners have Los Blancos in their Sights

Real Madrid vs Arsenal

The International Champions Cup campaign continues this week when Real Madrid against Arsenal is one of the eye-catching ties on the way.

The Gunners and Los Blancos are two of the most attractive sides in Europe, but neither had the season they hoped for last year. Real Madrid blew La Liga in spectacular style while Arsenal failed to win a coveted Champions League spot, before losing the Europa League final to Premier League rivals Chelsea.

But the slate is clean and these two great clubs have a chance to make their mark this season. At first glance Real Madrid still appears to be in a transition phase, but Arsenal has made a bright impression so far.

You’d have been offered pretty generous International Champions Cup odds on Unai Emery’s Gunners winning both of their opening games, particularly as one of them was against German giants FC Bayern. But win them they have, and in some style.

Talking Points

ZZ has some sorting out to do!

After a season of turmoil, this high profile pre-season tournament was a chance for Los Blancos to announce that they are still a big player on the world stage, particularly with their new marquee signing Eden Hazard ready to make an impact.

Rodrygo Goes focussed on getting a good International Champions Cup with Juventus — Real Madrid forward Rodrygo is tripped by FC Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich as he tries to score

Hazard has made his debut but Los Blancos suffered defeat to FC Bayern in front of 60,000 fans at the NRG Stadium. The American fans had a chance to see the Belgian make play for his new club, and while he showed some nice touches and the poise Chelsea fans are accustomed to, he was playing in a side second-best on the day.

Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy also made their first appearances for Real, and Rodrygo capped a good performance with a stunning free-kick to give the Spanish fans something to cheer.

The mood at the Bernabeu isn’t the best for at least one player. Gareth Bale is nearing the exit door according to Zidane, who has apparently said the sooner the Welsh winger leaves the club the better. That has provoked a furious response from Bale’s agent who has branded the Los Blancos boss ‘a disgrace’; so that is a situation which needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later.

Eddie’s all right for Arsenal

The Gunners managed to do what Los Blancos couldn’t, and beating FC Bayern in their opening ICC fixture was a feather in Emery’s cap. Then they made it two wins from two with a 3-0 win over Serie A side Fiorentina.

Arsenal has, for many years, been blessed in attack, and last season Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette formed one of the most potent partnerships in the Premier League.

But young Eddie Nketiah has staked a claim for a starting spot with a scintillating opening to his pre-season. Coach Emery wants Nketiah to stay at the Emirates and fight for a place, and he’s certainly been making the International Champions Cup news. The 20-year-old added to his strike against Bayern with a brace, one in each half against La Viola, though a three-goal win rather flattered the Londoners.

Fiorentina had plenty of chances to score but Emiliano Martinez had a good game in the Arsenal goal, while the defence in front of him showed the frailties which have dogged the club over the last few seasons. Nacho Monreal was the only Arsenal defender who played with real assurance, though Shkodran Mustafi improved a distinctly average display with a last-ditch tackle to deny Dusan Vlahovic.

But Nketiah was the man of the match and hey, if you keep scoring at one end you have a little more room for error at the other!

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International Champions Cup

History

The victory over Fiorentina was Arsenal’s third in a row, while Los Blancos have lost their last three.

Looking a little further back, Arsenal has won five in six while Los Blancos have managed just a single victory in that time.

And, in the head to heads, Arsenal has won two of the last three meetings, with the other drawn. The last meeting was a 1-0 Gunners win in 2008, but none of the three games yielded more than one goal.

In contrast, all three games involving these two teams in this year’s ICC have had over 2.50 goals, and I suspect we’ll see more of the same.

Betting Tip

	Real Madrid vs Arsenal	Arsenal, Asian Handicap + 0.25 @ 2.01
	July 24, 07:00 (GMT+8)

Real Madrid is at 1.85 with that -0.25 handicap; so this is a tight game to call, but I just feel the Gunners are in better shape than their illustrious opponents at this early stage.

There is pressure on Los Blancos to perform, whereas Nketiah is playing without fear and he’ll be a handful again on Tuesday.

Over 3.00 goals is at SBOBET odds of 1.79 so we expect to see action at both ends.