The 2014 Emirates Cup was a pre-season football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal at its home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London. It was the eighth Emirates Cup, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 2–3 August 2014, the participants were Arsenal, Monaco, Valencia, and Benfica. The competition follows a point scoring system whereby each team plays two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point is awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Valencia, and Benfica did not play against Monaco. On the first day of the Emirates Cup, Yaya Sanogo scored four goals as Arsenal eased to a 5–1 victory over Benfica, while Valencia and Monaco played out a 2–2 draw. Arsenal's failure to earn a point against Monaco on the final day meant Valencia won the tournament having come from a goal down to beat Benfica by two clear goals. Background The Emirates Cup began in July 2007 once Arsenal finalised plans to stage a pre-season competition at its home ground. Primeira Liga champions Benfica, La Liga club Valencia, and Ligue 1 side Monaco were confirmed as participants for the 2014 edition, alongside hosts Arsenal in May. It marked Valencia's second appearance in the tournament; the club acted as Hamburg's replacements in 2007. Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said the tournament had "proved to be an overwhelming success" now in its seventh year and added in a statement, "Not only does the tournament offer supporters the first chance to see the team play at Emirates Stadium before the start of the new season, it will of course also provide a very competitive level of preparation for all the teams ahead of the 2014/2015 season." Summary Valencia faced Monaco on the opening day of the 2014 Emirates Cup. Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim fielded an expensively assembled team, which included midfielders João Moutinho and Geoffrey Kondogbia, and striker Radamel Falcao all on the substitutes' bench. Valencia started well and created the game's first chance in the 8th minute – Rodrigo De Paul collected a pass from Antonio Barragán and his effort sailed over the crossbar. Sofiane Feghouli then forced goalkeeper Danijel Subašić into a save, before Anthony Martial created Monaco's first meaningful chance in the 23rd minute which was on target. Despite the Spanish side's domination, Monaco took the lead