Rueful Arsenal fall to Lens in first defeat of season
RC Lens 2-1 Arsenal
Errors were the talk of the town as Arsenal and RC Lens both benefited from mistakes from one another, but the Gunners still fell to a 2-1 defeat in northern France.
It was a first defeat of the season for Mikel Arteta’s men in all competitions, as Lens came from behind to beat the English outfit after two defensive mistakes from the Gunners in either half.
An explosive atmosphere greeted both sets of players at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Arteta and his side fully aware they were coming for war against one of France football’s returning big dogs.
A first match between the two clubs in 23 years in a fixture which offered plenty of drama throughout the few times both sides have shared the pitch with each other, with he Gunners were watched on by the next generation of talent looking to break into the first team from the prestigious Hale End academy.
Arteta expected Arsenal to “have a huge test” from the Ligue 1 runners-up and as previously acknowledged, it was a fast-paced start from the flamboyant home side.
But Arsenal are imperious in the group stage of UEFA European competitions, and that trend looked to continue as they took the lead 14 minutes in.
A loose Lens pass was pounced on by Bukayo Saka, who slipped the ball onto Gabriel Jesus and the Brazilian arrowed his shot into the bottom left corner to reward the Gunners’ early dominance on the match, silencing the home crowd in the process.
It had been 1,671 days since Arteta’s men stepped foot in France, when an Unai Emery led Arsenal succumbed to a 3-1 defeat against Stade Rennes. And although they had gone ahead, Les Sang et Or showed their fighting spirit and were level in the 25th minute.
A poor clearance from David Raya was pounced upon on
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