For Arsenal the entertainment came in equal measure from the left boot of Thibaut Courtois and the ox-like shoulders of Sead Kolasinac. In the bigger picture Alexandre Lacazette’s slighter frame may carry more of a burden and, although this was no stand-out introduction to English football for their new forward, it will have proved a brisk enough sharpener.
That is the requirement, at least. With Alexis Sánchez still kept at a remove from the action there appears no prospect of a quick click into gear for the pair Arsène Wenger hopes will vindicate his decision not to sell the Chilean. Lacazette will have to play well immediately and, in a lively but predictably frayed encounter, there were glimpses of the devilment he will offer around the penalty area, even if few real clues were offered about Arsenal’s most equable attacking balance.
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