Arsenal 3 - 0 Rangers Sun 02/08/09

RANGERS were given a stark reminder of the level of opposition they will face in this year's Champions League as hosts Arsenal eased to a 3-0 victory to clinch the Emirates Cup.

Walter Smith's side had been hugely impressive in their opening fixture against PSG and the manager chose to make only four changes to the side that started that match.

Allan McGregor replaced Neil Alexander in goal with Kevin Thomson, Steven Naismith and DaMarcus Beasley taking the places of Lee McCulloch, Kenny Miller and Nacho Novo in midfield.

It was an area of the pitch the Light Blues had dominated against their French opposition but with Thomson starting his first match in almost nine months and facing the likes of Cesc Fabregas in the centre of the park the Gers had their work cut out.

And there were less than two minutes on the clock when McGregor was picking the ball out of his net for the first time.

Neat build up work from Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin saw the ball break to young Jack Wilshere just inside the Rangers box and his low left footed drive slipped under McGregor in to the bottom corner.

It was not the start Smith would have hoped for from his side as they faced arguably the toughest test of their pre season campaign.

But with his side failing to settle in the early stages the Ibrox boss could only look on from the sidelines as things got even worse for his team after 10 minutes.

Young Spaniard Fran Merida found himself in acres of space in the middle of Rangers' half as the ball broke loose once again.

He took little time to control and slide an inch perfect pass in to the path of Brazilian born Croatian forward Eduardo.

The Arsenal number nine was clear in the box and never looked like missing. He coolly slotted his left footed effort inches inside McGregor's far post to put the hosts on course for a straightforward win.

Rangers' chances of recovering from such an early double blow looked slim as the English side demonstrated exactly why they have featured regularly in the Premiership's top four.

A sharpness of movement and passing that came naturally allowed them to display the flowing and incisive counter attacks for which they have become famous in recent seasons.

That same sharpness eluded Rangers and there only real chance of the opening 45 minutes came when Pedro Mendes' corner was punched on to the head of Beasley by Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.

The ball broke to Madjid Bougherra but Merida was well placed to block the big Algerian's attempt.

After a poor first half showing it was no surprise that Smith shuffled his pack at half time with Thomson, Lafferty and Beasley withdrawn for Novo, Miller and McCulloch.

The changes seemed to spark Rangers to life early on in the second period with Novo and Miller in particularly looking lively on the right hand side and combining well with Naismith and Whittaker.

And it was Naismith who had the ball in the net 10 minutes in to the half but with the linesman's flag already up for offside against Mendes it would count for nothing.

He should, however, have registered a strike just five minutes later when his pass released Davis on the right and he burst in to the box to collect the return.

Davis' delivery was perfect but Naismith could only direct his shot straight at Almunia and Rangers' best chance of the match was lost.

A spate of substitutions from Arsenal shortly after the hour mark disrupted the flow of the game but it was star performer Wilshere who lit it up again with 18 minutes remaining.

The 17-year-old raced clear of Naismith on the right and when substitute Aaron Ramsey lifted the ball in to his path he rifled a right footed effort beyond a helpless McGregor.

Kenny Miller might have notched a late consolation for Walter Smith's side but he dragged his shot wide of the post with four minutes left.

And in truth there could be few complaints about a scoreline that reflected the dominance enjoyed throughout by an Arsenal side that will hope to join Rangers in the group stages of the Champions League in the coming weeks.

The result will matter little in the long term for Rangers but as they return north to prepare for the visit of Manchester City it will have given Smith plenty of food for thought as he prepares to again guide his side in European competition against opposition the equal of an impressive Arsenal side.

Teams

RANGERS: McGregor; Whittaker, Bougherra, Weir, Papac; Beasley, Davis, Mendes, Thomson, Naismith, Lafferty,

Subs: Alexander, McCulloch, Boyd, Novo, Velicka, Miller, Aaron, Smith, Little, Shinnie,

Arsenal: Almunia; Eboue, Gallas, Silvestre, Clichy; Wilshere, Merida, Song, Fabregas, Arshavin; Eudardo,

Subs: Szczesny, Sagna, Rosicky, Van Persie, Denilson, Ramsey, Djourou, Bendtner, Traore, Watt,

Ref:

Man-of-the-match: Naismith

Attendance: