TOPS
Elye Wahi is on! After unlocking his counter in the Lens jersey last weekend, the former Montpellier confirmed his progress this Tuesday. Little visible in the game (14 balls hit), but terribly effective. A decisive passer for Thomasson in the first period, with a beautiful acrobatic sequence, the 20-year-old was responsible for scoring the winning goal for Lens, receiving a cross from Frankowski. A superb evening for the most expensive recruit in the history of the RCL.
At the other end of the field, Brice Samba was also decisive. The Lensois captain, beaten by a nice cross strike from Jesus at the start of the match, didn’t let anything get by afterwards. Vigilant on a cross volley from Havertz in the wake of the opening goal, he then pulled out all the stops in the second half. His superb save from a point-blank recovery from Tomiyasu from a corner made Bollaert explode, relieved by this action. Imperial.
As in Seville, Lens quickly conceded the opener. But this time again, the Blood and Gold reacted quickly. Relieved by Thomasson’s fine equalizer, the northern club gained momentum and was able to thwart the uninspired Gunners. The enormous intensity shown by the Lensois collective clearly turned the meeting on its head. On an individual level, we will note the great performance of Kevin Danso in the central hinge, while Deiver Machado and Przemyslaw Frankowski gradually became more comfortable on the sides.
FLOPS
It was therefore on Félix-Bollaert’s pitch that Arsenal conceded their first defeat of the season. Despite a good start and Jesus’ quick opening score, the Gunners quickly gave up and did not find the solutions to counter Lens’ intensity. Uninspired, like Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz who did not carry enough weight in the midfield. Mikel Arteta, who regretted after the match the lack of efficiency of his team in both areas, revised his plans after the second Lensois goal. But his coaching had no noticeable effect on the end of the match which the London club never knew how to pack.
Uncertain but finally starting on the right wing, Bukayo Saka quickly left his teammates. The England international, decisive passer on the opening score, was stopped short after half an hour of play, hit in the left thigh. His replacement, Fabio Vieira, has shown absolutely nothing good. Disappointed by his team’s performance, Mikel Arteta may well regret his decision to field the 22-year-old player. Especially since a huge shock against Manchester City is looming this weekend in the Premier League.