KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia was close, but not quite good enough to defeat England's Arsenal on Tuesday in a friendly match part of the English club giants trip to Southeast Asia ahead of the beginning of their season back in England. Malaysians don't often get to see the giants from the EPL get beaten by a Malaysian side, which goes back to 1975 when the late Mokhtar Dahari scored a brace in their 2-0 win over Arsenal. And on Tuesday, it wasn't to be, despite a promising start. Malaysia's left-back Azmi Muslim gave the 35,000 fans something to cheer about when they trooped off the pitch in style, leading Arsene Wenger's men stunned 1-0 at half-time. But Arsenal struck with two late goals through Thomas Eisfeld and Chucks Aneke in the 87th and 89th minutes. It was entertainment for the crowd and Azmi pulled the trigger from 30 meters out with a lethal left-footed strike which left Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone sprawled to the ground in stoppage time of the half. But Wenger's men came back after the breather to pull off a slim 2-1 victory.
