First pre-season game ends with no injuries and promising signs.
Andrei Arshavin opened the scoring in the second minute after a neat exchange with Tomas Rosicky. Both players looked sharp during the traditional curtain raiser to the pre-season period and Wenger will be delighted to head to Austria with no further injury problems.
Jay Simpson added two more goals before Samir Nasri stole in to complete the scoring after a comical slip in the Barnet defence. Simpson is a powerful player but looks destined to sign for a championship team sooner rather than later, Nasri meanwhile will be hoping to avoid an injury in pre-season after a broken leg in Austria halted his preparations a year ago.
New boys Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny made their first appearances and made contrasting first impressions. Chamakh had a surprisingly impressive physical presence on the pitch while Koscielny looked frail in comparison. Tomas Vermaelen adapted to English football so easily last season because he could handle himself on the pitch but Koscielny will struggle unless he puts on a few pounds.
The most impressive new addition was the kit which is the Arsenalist home kit we’ve seen in years. After today’s announcement regarding the renaming of the stands at the Grove to the set-up we all knew and loved at Highbury, there is a renewed sense of belonging to the club which had briefly lost its way both on and off the pitch after the move to the new stadium. With the clock now also in place above the Clock End, the Grove will feel infinitely more like home. Sitting in the Clock End at the first home game of the season against Blackpool will have a pleasing historic resonance.
As everything falls into place off the pitch we can only hope the goalkeeper and centre back that we have been desperate for also appear before we head to Anfield to make a mockery of Joe Cole’s financially motivated decision.