Radamel Falcao makes decisive impact as Arsenal slip up against Monaco

Arsène Wenger contemplated the question of whether Manchester City are circumnavigating Financial Fair Play rules by recruiting Frank Lampard from New York City FC. “It is a surprise,” the Arsenal manager observed. “After the statements we heard it looks like all these City clubs will feed the main club. I heard they want to buy five clubs all around the world. I don’t know the rules well enough. They bought the franchise for $100m [£59.4m] in the States to play next season and at the moment the players they sign cannot play until next year. They will register in the clubs where they will put them and they can get out on loan. Is it a way to get around the fair play?” he pondered. “I don’t know.”

He added that Arsenal did not have enough surplus at their disposal to consider purchasing any extra clubs and was focused enough on bolstering his team with money they earn internally. The Emirates Cup has given him the chance to take a closer look at the group he has assembled at record expense for the season ahead. It remains a work in progress.

After a bright 5-1 victory over Benfica Arsenal toiled in a 1-0 defeat by Monaco. “We demonstrated a lot can change in 24 hours,” Wenger said. “As much as our performance yesterday was sharp, creative, dynamic and mobile, today was static, lethargic and not convincing at all. Many players have not recovered physically and are not completely ready.”

Although he declared himself “not especially concerned”, the variety of performance level in his attacking players is an area that merits thought before the start of the serious challenge when the Premier League begins on 16 August.

After Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell demonstrated their taste for goals on Saturday, Olivier Giroud played the first 45 minutes against Monaco laboriously enough for Wenger to withdraw him – “he was not ready at all after three weeks’ rest,” the manager explained with a furrowed brow – before handing the baton to Alexis Sánchez for a cameo at centre-forward. As focal points up front, the two players could not be more diverse.

There is certainly food for thought in how differently the team functioned when Sánchez moved to the front of Wenger’s team. Following on from the Giroud school of leading the line, it was as if a committed dog person had suddenly got himself a cat. Here was a complete contrast. Physically, and in terms of velocity and movement, the two players come from opposite ends of the spectrum. The runs they make are completely different: Giroud bulky and ambling, Sánchez darting, speedy, low and marked by explosive changes of direction.

The fourth striker whom Wenger took a look at over the tournament was Chuba Akpom, an 18-year-old with impressive physique and pace whose sparky run should have earned his team a penalty, which was bizarrely and erroneously given as a free-kick outside the box. Arsenal were unable to claw back the lead Monaco were given by Radamel Falcao, who was overjoyed to relish again the sensation of scoring some seven months after his last goal to conclude a gruelling rehabilitation from a knee injury. Valencia were the lucky ones who ended up winning the Emirates Cup having beaten Benfica 3-1 earlier in the afternoon.

If Wenger leaves the tournament behind with questions to ponder regarding his options at centre-forward, he also found himself an answer at centre-back after consecutive performances from Calum Chambers that were hugely encouraging. The teenager’s poise in that position augured well. Southampton’s second-choice right-back for much of last season looked every inch a centre-back armed with a high level of confidence and character.

“He is one of the satisfactions of the weekend,” said Wenger. “At 19 he was not fazed by the quality of the opponents and his first time at the Emirates. He can play central midfield as well, as he has good technique, great mobility and is a good distance runner. He was educated as a central midfielder, then played with England Under-19 at centre-back and right-back for Southampton. That is where I saw him the first time against us and I liked him. I made my mind to buy him after I saw him against us.”

The new right-back Mathieu Debuchy also got a run-out but, as with his international team-mate Giroud, Wenger was wary of a sluggishness and is content to wait for the former Newcastle player to improve his physical fitness.

He expects an improvement by the time Arsenal head to Wembley next weekend for the Community Shield. “Yes... and maybe by Man City too.”