RANGERS kicked-off their 150th anniversary celebrations this afternoon, playing out a 2-2 draw with old friends Arsenal.
In an entertaining contest which the Light Blues will have taken plenty from as they build towards the new season, the sides traded goals with Nuno Tavares cancelling out a Leon Balogun opener before Eddie Nketiah equalised a Cedric Itten header.
The teams emerged to a fantastic reception, and after 16 months of silence, it was a quite wonderful moment to again hear the old place alive with noise and colour, albeit, not in the numbers anyone had hoped for.
The match itself was very even in the early moments, but with just 14 minutes on the clock, the Ibrox roar returned as Gers’ set-piece prowess again came to the fore.
Skipper James Tavernier’s corner from the right was outstanding, and alive in the middle to get the run on his marker was Leon Balogun, who flicked the ball superbly with his head back across goalkeeper Arthur Okonwo and into the back of the net.
It was a truly stunning header, and another well-worked routine from Tom Culshaw’s magic book of corners.
Arsenal began to show some of their Premier League class, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang combining well with Nicolas Pepe, the latter curling an effort over from wide in the box.
Then on 23 minutes, they drew themselves level, Nuno Tavares picking up a loose ball out on the left, cutting into the area and finishing superbly beyond Allan McGregor and into the opposite corner.
Aubameyang then had a decent opening at the back post which he mis-cued, while McGregor saved well from Flo Balogun from close range.
Calvin Bassey then made a remarkable goal-line clearance to deny Aubameyang to ensure the sides went into the break level.
Half-time saw Nathan Patterson introduced alongside Jack Simpson, with Patterson playing behind Tavernier who was right of a three in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
John Lundstram had a chance early in the second half, getting his head on a Tavernier free-kick from the right, while Bassey lofted an effort over when cutting in from the left.
The hour mark saw many more changes made, and two of those replacements combined to put the home side back in front on 76 minutes.
This time it was Glenn Middleton with a deep corner to the far post, and rising above the Arsenal defence was Cedric Itten to again bullet the ball across the goalkeeper to again show this side’s set-piece quality.
Middleton then had a free-kick charged down by the visitors’ wall, while Patterson drove one just wide on the half-volley from 25-yards.
Gers had really come to life, and replacement goalkeeper Karl Hein denied Stephen Kelly with a smart save, but Arsenal raced to the other end and levelled again, Eddie Nketiah turning in the area to fire beyond McGregor with seven minutes left to play.
A good workout for the Gers as they continue to build to the new season which begins in-earnest in a fortnight.
RANGERS: McGregor, Tavernier (Middleton, 61) Bassey (Edmundson, 61), Lundstram (Hastie, 61), Goldson (Kelly, 61), Defoe (Wright, 37), Davis (Arfield, 61), Kamara (Patterson, 45), Roofe (Itten, 61), Balogun (Simpson, 45)
SUBS NOT USED: McLaughlin, Mayo.
ARSENAL: Okonwo, Soares, Holding, Mari, Tavares, Partey, Elneny, F Balogun, Smith-Rowe, Pepe, Aubameyang.
SUBS: Hein, Smith, Chambers, Bellerin, Tierney, Kolasinac, Nelson, Nketiah, Lacazette, Willock, Willian, Maitland-Niles.
REFEREE: Bobby Madden
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