LONDON — New York knew a tie with Arsenal in their last game of the Emirates Cup would be good enough to take the coveted trophy back home to Red Bull Arena.
They left it late, but Roy Miller emerged as the hero for the Red Bulls as his pull-back was deflected into the Arsenal net by Gunners’ youngster Kyle Bartley to knot the score in the 84th minute.
At the final whistle, New York players celebrated winning the prestigious title as they unseated the host as Emirates Cup champions, an honor they had held for the previous three seasons.
The pivotal moment came just as New York looked to have been shut down by an impressive Arsenal side. Miller was fed in by Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry and, after side stepping an Arsenal defender, his cross was bundled into the Arsenal net by the heavily pressured substitute Bartley.
The Red Bulls had fallen behind just before the half-time whistle as New York inexplicably switched off on a set piece. New York midfielder Teemu Tainio was adjudged to have handled the ball in the 42nd minute, which allowed Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky to whip in an inviting delivery. The Red Bull defenders were caught napping as Gunners captain Robin Van Persie snuck in to head home the opener from eight yards out to put the hosts up 1-0.
Arsenal dominated proceedings, especially in the first half with 66 percent of possession and a pass completion rate of 92 percent. The Red Bull players were spectators for large periods of the game as the Gunners turned on the style with their fluid passing movements.
But New York kept on battling to the end and struck a late goal to return to the Big Apple with welcomed hardware.
Henry was visibly delighted to make his emotional return against former club Arsenal a victorious one as Hans Backe's men finished with a 1-0-1 record on their debut appearance at the Emirates Cup, beating French giants Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 on Saturday before their enthralling 1-1 tie with Arsenal.
The Red Bulls return to MLS action on Saturday with a trip to play Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium (9 pm ET, watch LIVE online).
SCORING SUMMARY
ARS – Van Persie (Rosicky), 42’
ARS – Bartley (own-goal)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
None
LINEUPS:
Arsenal –– Wojciech Szczesny, Laurent Koscielny (Kyle Bartley, 74’), Bacary Sagna (Emmanuel Eboué, 74’), Thomas Vermaelen, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere (Benik Afobe, 7’, Andrey Arshavin, 74’), Tomas Rosciky, Aaron Ramsey, Alexandre Song, Robin van Persie (Marouane Chamakh, 65’), Gervinho (Carlos Vela, 65’)
New York –– Frank Rost, Roy Miller, Chris Albright (John Rooney, 78’), Tim Ream, Rafa Márquez, Carlos Mendes (Stephen Keel, 45’), Teemu Tainio (Juan Agudelo, 55’), Dax McCarty, Jan Gunnar Solli, Dane Richards, Thierry Henry
