Arsenal 1 Van Persie 87
How I wish every weekend would be like this with trophy after trophy coming our way.
Despite being nothing more than another pre-season tournament, the LG Amsterdam Tournament provide a number of posive signs that life without Thierry Henry would not be that bad after all.
All the frontmen Arsene Wenger had fielded during the tournament and the Emirates Cup found the back of the net, which is always a good thing to boost their confidence. Arsenal fans perhaps are familiar with the exploits of Robin Van Persie but there a lot to learn about Niklas Bendtner and Eduardo da Silva.
Bendtner and Eduardo found the net in the match against Lazio while Van Persie broke Ajax hearts by scoring the winner three minutes from time during their encounter last night.
One thing that I observed of the current frontline is that they are quite tough and would not shirk from getting a bit physical with the opponents. Thus it would be interesting to see them against physical sides such as Bolton Wanderers and now Sam Allardyce has joined them, Newcastle United.
The match started well for Arsenal, seeing much of the ball and earning an early free-kick just outside the Ajax penalty area. Tomas Rosicky's effort was on target but was deflected by the wall.
Ajax goalkeeper Martin Stekelenburg managed to save the situation for the home side. He was the busier of the two goalkeepers on the pitch and was called upon again in the 18th minute when he prevented Kolo Toure's point blank effort from a free kick from going in.
Ajax made a tactical change by bringing in Dennis Rommedahl for youngster Gergeory Van Der Wiel. He immediately saw action and put Jens Lehmann under pressure with an effort which flew just over the bar.
A minute later Van Persie would have a clear run on goal but was stopped cynically by Jurgen Colin who was cautioned for his effort. Arsenal twice broke through on the right in quick succession with Denilson failed to connect properly with Bacary Sagna's cross while Van Persie's effort went across the Ajax goalmouth begging for a final touch.
Ajax began to dominate the match and in the 34th minute Hedwiges Maduro long range effort had Lehmann a bit concerned. Skipper William Gallas was having a difficult period when his mistake let in Wesley Sneijder. The French defender was a picture of relief as the shot was blocked.
Then Gallas committed a rash tackle on Klaas Huntelaar and had his name in the referee's book. Sneijder's fierce drive was stopped by Lehmann but the ball found it' way to Rommedahl whose shot was smothered by the German on the second attempt.
The Dane broke through again on the left as interval approached but Sagna matched his pace and put the ball out for a fruitless corner.
The attacking football continued from both sides when play resumed. Gael Clichy made a wonderful run and saw his shot pushed by Stekelenburg for a corner. Matthieu Flamini could have given Arsenal the lead if he was a fractionally faster to the loose ball from the corner.
On the hour mark, Kennedy Bakircioglu tried a low shot from the right but his effort just missed the target.
Rosicky then was taken off with Eduardo coming on giving more firepower to the Arsenal frontline. His presence certainly added more steel and resilient as evident when he won a free-kick on the right after being fouled as he battled against two Ajax defenders.
Then in the 74th minute Gallas set out on a wonderful run and his final ball opened the home defence for Van Persie but Stekelenburg denied him with a class save.
Huntelaar who was the first player to score at the Emirates Stadium last season in the Dennis Bergkamp Testimonial, began to impose himself. He was about to pull the trigger when Toure prevented him from doing so with a superb tackle.
In the 79th minute Lehmann played the ball long and Eduardo gave chase to it. His strength and persistent saw him get the better of the two defenders with him but was foiled by Stekelenburg.
Six minutes later Huntelaar saw his powerful header hit the bar from a cross from the right by Mitchell Donald. Kennedy wonderful flick enabled the substitute to break through on the right.
Two minutes later, Glichy embarked on another run after an Ajax attack was broken down. He faced two Ajax players at the edge of the box but kept his composure to deliver a wonderful ball to Van Persie who controlled it calmly before blasting it past Stekelenburg.
The home side tried to respond immediately and Lehmann had to be alert to prevent Johnny Heitinga long range header from going in. Arsenal then played down the clock and finished at the top of the pile with nine points from two victories and the three goals scored.
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