Arsenal’s charge towards the Premier League crown got off to the best possible start with a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. New boy Samir Nasri got his first goal for the club and the only one in the game inside four minutes, comfortably side-footing home after lovely lead-up play involving Gael Clichy and Denilson.

There were a couple of surprises in the starting side that Arsene Wenger put on the pitch. Indeed, Nasri made his first start for Arsenal on the left side of midfield as Theo Walcott moved to the right. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Eboue replaced Aaron Ramsey as Denilson’s central-midfield partner (yes, you heard me) while Wenger chose to start Nicklas Bendtner in the place of Robin van Persie, officially the most injury-prone player in the universe.

Arsenal started the game as well as they could have hoped, stroking the ball around with ease and being rewarded with Nasri’s opener. West Brom were made to look like a poor version of Derby County in the opening 15 minuts as Walcott had a header blocked on the line and then Gallas fired narrowly wide with a fierce attempt from a fair way out. Indeed, such was the venom in Gallas’ shot that for a moment I thought Toure had made his way onto the pitch for a temporary cameo.

Even at this early stage I thought Arsenal were going to win by four or even five goals, such was the ridiculous dominanace of Wenger’s side. But no player could add to Nasri’s opener in the first half as shot after shot flew wide before the break.

Things changed a little bit after half-time as Arsenal’s intensity dropped slightly and West Brom raised their game. Djourou - who otherwise had a marvellous game - tried to play an opponent offside when maybe he shouldnt’ve as first Almunia was forced into a good save and then the Swiss player was forced to clear off the line. It was as strong a display of a player for making up for his own mistake as you are ever likely to see.

For the rest of the game, not much happened apart from some decent chances for Adebayor and a couple of blazed efforts by Eboue. But it mattered little as Arsenal’s defence made sure West Brom never went close to scoring and allowed the boys to get away with a reasonably impressive 1-0 win.

I was particularly impressed with Nasri’s performance in this game. To score a goal so early was great but it was his speed, control on the ball and particularly his strength that impressed me most. For such a small guy he displayed great upper-body strength and the way he was able to use his low centre of gravity to bounce of challenges reminded me a little bit of Lionel Messi. It’s early days yet for the Frenchman but thankfully he is confident of producing similar performances going forward:

“When I first met the boss, he said that maybe I would need a bit of time, maybe up to six months - but actually I felt really good straight away. Now I will have to continue week in and week out, and hopefully I can keep playing like that, it will be brilliant.”

Other notable performances came from Djourou, Adebayor and Eboue.

Apart from his one poor decision to go for an offside when it wasn’t on, Djourou rivalled Nasri for Man of the Match honours. He was strong in the air and calm on the ground and showed good positioning throughout the match. I know there will be people saying that it was only West Brom but I would encourage those people to watch the game two seasons ago when a 20-year-old Djourou helped Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. He can certainly play and with the form he’s showing at the moment I see no reason why Toure should be brought back into the side.

As for Adebayor, although he didn’t score and made a couple of strange decisions, this match showed exactly why he will be important for Arsenal this season. The guy’s work ethic and willingness to get involved was impeccable even if his finishing wasn’t up to scratch. I’ve read some supporters saying he was selfish at times but when you watch a player peel left time after time and whip in cross after cross he deserves to go alone every once in a while. All he needs to work on is making the right decision at the right time, something I’m sure Wenger will give him some help with.

And then there was Eboue. He wasn’t perfect yesterday but I thought he had a strong game. And while I don’t think he is the long-term answer to Arsenal’s defensive midfield slot and I still think that Wenger needs to make a signing - I certainly believe he can be relied upon to fit in from time to time. Either way, I do think he’s thrown the cat amongst the pigeons to a certain extent.

I’m sure there will be some people a little worried about the fact that Arsenal were not able to kill off West Brom. But I would advise them to sit back, chill out a bit and take note of the comments made by the manager following the match:

“I am pleased with the fact that we didn’t concede a goal. We scored two on Wednesday, one today, so it’s better than the reverse. Overall it was a good week for us. A winning start, a win in the Champions League, so yes a good week.”

At the end of the day all you can do is beat the sides in front of you and that is exactly what Arsenal has done. Liverpool, the only other ‘big four’ side to play two games this week were not able to do it while an admittedly understrength Manchester United were not even able to win the one game they had to play. As for Spurs, well…

Before I go today I just want to give a big shout out to all the boys from Arsenal Australia who made it down to the Pig ‘n’ Whistle Riverside in Brisbane on Saturday night to watch the game. It was a pleasure to meet you all - particularly Jammathon from Third Gen - and I look forward to watching future Arsenal matches with you guys down the line. I’ve included a great photo from the night in this post.

Just another reminder to all Australian Gooners that the official Arsenal Australia Supporters Club organise events all over the country, so if you’re interested in watching the matches with like-minded fans then go to their website and get involved.

Here’s cheers to a job well-done and the first Arsenal victory of many!

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After absorbing quite a lot of pressure in the opening hour Arsenal took the lead through William Gallas’ bundled finish before Emmanuel Adebayor added the icing on the cake by tapping home with seven minutes to go. The result means that Arsenal are virtually assured of their place in the group stages of the Champions League after scoring two unanswered away goals.

It was very much a case of a job done as opposed to a job well-done as an Arsenal side that saw a number of players perform well below their best. Indeed, FC Twente had at least three very good opportunities to score and their Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic will be particularly disappointed that he could finish the guilt-edge chance that was fashioned for him midway through the first half.

Twente was gifted with the first real chance of the match when confused defending from Denilson and Gael Clichy (of all people!) gave Romano Denneboom a clear sight on goal. Thankfully for Arsenal he blasted over the bar.

Johan Djourou - who was one of few who performed quite well - soon went off with a blood nose before Twente carved out their best chance of the match through the aforementioned Arnautovic. Gallas was at fault for trying to play the striker offside but with only Manuel Almunia to beat he thankfully miscontrolled and lost his balance and the chance was gone.

Soon after Robin van Persie clattered into the goalkeeper and was down injured for quite a while. When I first saw the reply I was pretty worried that he had sustained a corked thigh or something more serious. But soon after I saw him holding his manhood and I realised that everything would be alright. I think even van Persie would prefer not being able to have another child over missing more game-time. Maybe not, but you get my point.

Then came Arsenal’s best chance of the half when a long range effort from Clichy was spilled by Twente goalkeeper Sander Boschker. The ball fell to the feet of Bacary Sagna but he could only flash a shot wide of the post when he really should have scored.

Sagna’s shot was the last action of a strange first half for Arsenal and an encouraging one for FC Twente.

Not too much chanced after the break as the Dutch team enjoyed more possession and generally looked a better side than Arsenal. But they were made to pay for missing their early chances when Emmanuel Eboue was fouled on the right wing and van Persie whipped in a free-kick that was bundled home by captain Gallas. It was hardly a great finish but another example of the Frenchman being able to find the net at an important time.

Arnautovic had another good chance to score when he got in behind Djourou and Gallas but the Austrian was well closed down by Almunia and could only find the side netting. Afterwards, Arsenal sealed the two-goal win when Gallas’ long ball found Theo Walcott and the winger put it on a plate for the almost anonymous Adebayor to finish low past the goalkeeper.

2-0 it finished and as I said, an excellent result if not an amazing performance.

After the match Arsene Wenger was unsurprisingly delighted with the result and pointed to his side’s ability to keep their heads while the were not in control of the match. In his own words:

“We were a very young team and we did not lose our nerve, did not panic and in the end maybe our technical superiority allowed us to score two goals. That is a massive advantage for the second leg but we will be on our toes.”

And you have to say he’s just about right. It was a young side that played last night and I think at times it really showed. When you consider that the players who made up the midfield were Denilson (20), Ramsey (17), Walcott (19) and Eboue (25 - but acts like he’s about 12) you can understand why the struggled to win the midfield battle on the night.

But as Wenger points out, the younger players keeping their heads allowed more experienced players like Gallas, van Persie and Adebayor to make the difference. Often in important Champions League games like this, that is all that matters.

I think it would be unfair to criticise such an understrength team in the first game of the season when they achieved such a positive result but there is one observation that I made that has me a little worried about Arsenal’s chances of picking up silverware this season. 

A lot of people will argue that the injuries to Cesc Fabregas and Abou Diaby meant that Arsenal’s midfield was not at its best - but I really felt that the side missed a player like Mathieu Flamini last night. I know there’s not much point bringing up the Frenchman again but I really feel that if Wenger doesn’t bring in a player who can do a similar job to what Flamini did last season then I think we may struggle to match the intensity of stronger opponents.

Anyway, it’s just a small observation to make on an otherwise successful night.

Have your say on Arsenal’s win over FC Twente by leaving a comment.

First up came the announcement from the striker on Friday that he would be signing a new deal with the club. Adebayor organised an interview in which he revealed that would be staying with the club as well as proclaiming his love for the Arsenal ‘family’.

This was followed up by Arsenal’s first game of the Emirates Cup against Juventus. A young Arsenal side were defeated 1-0 by David Trezeguet’s offside goal but the game was made more notable by Adebayor’s presence on the pitch and the echo of boos that were aimed at him from some sections of the home crowd.

However, Arsene Wenger gave the striker his backing following the Juventus game and Adebayor replied by providing the winning goal and an excellent performance in yesterday’s game against Real Madrid. The Togolese man converted a second-half penalty after striker partner Robin van Persie was clumsily brought down by Michel Salgado.

In the post-match interview, the manager made the following comments about Adebayor:

“He felt that people had questioned his commitment and the best answer to that is to give your all on the pitch; play well, show that you are ready to fight for your shirt, fight for your team and be efficient. He showed that, and he is a man of character.”

So I suppose what you are probably wondering is - what do I make of it all?

First things first, I am delighted that Adebayor has decided to stay. As I mentioned a little while back, I feel that the striker makes Arsenal a better team and as I am a supporter who wants to see this club win trophies, that’s definitely important. If you watched the Real Madrid game (or even just the highlights) you would have seen how well Adebayor and van Persie combined and I have a real hope this season that if the pair of them stay fit then this Arsenal side are going to score a lot of goals.

The other issue relates, of course, to Adebayor’s attitude. I make no bones about the fact that I was intensely critical about Adebayor’s ‘retirement’ comments that were made a little while ago. They were bloody ridiculous and still are when you read over them.

But were they true? After all, I never saw any video footage of him making the statements and with the tabloids and internet the way they are these days it’s very hard to know what can be believed. Adebayor has said they were not but I guess in the end we will never know.

What I do know is that as long as Adebayor puts in 100% every time he gets on the pitch he will get my support - and the dogged performance against Real Madrid was a bloody good start. Hopefully things will continue to get easier from here for both the player and the supporters.

The Adebayor issue aside there was still a lot going on over the weekend.

William Gallas was officially announced as captain again (a good decision - as I’ve said previously), Eduardo has revealed that he should be back playing before Christmas while the manager has made it quite clear that he is looking to bring in one final signing before the transfer window. Add these to the fact that the start of the season is now only 12 days away and you have to admit things are getting pretty exciting.

Anyway, that’s about it for the weekend round-up. Have a lovely Monday and I hope you can enjoy the rest of the week. Cheers.

Have your say on Adebayor or any other pre-season news by leaving a comment.

The starting team included Manuel Almunia behind a very strong back four of Bacary Sagna, Johan Djourou, William Gallas - whose captaincy skills were backed by Cesc Fabregas and the manager before the match - and Gael Clichy. Denilson was surprisingly paired with Emmanuel Eboue in the centre of the park, flanked on the right and left by Theo Walcott and Nasri respectively with Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor starting up front.

I think it’s fair to say that the bigger name players were a little sluggish and lethargic in the first half - understandable given that most had only recently returned to training. Van Persie should have scored from a one-on-one situation with ex-Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann while Walcott had a close range effort excellently saved by the same player. Aside from that, things were a little flat.

Indeed, it was not until the destroyers of Burgenland - Nicklas Bendtner and Carlos Vela - were brought on at the break that Arsenal’s attack began to click into gear. Even despite the changes it was Stuttgart who took the lead when Yildiray Basturk capitalised on some lose marking by Djourou to shoot through the defender’s legs and past Lukasz Fabianski.

But from that point on it was all Arsenal as Vela, Bendtner and fellow substitute Jack Wilshere all scored second-half goals.

The first involved a lovely pass from Bendtner and a neat bit of control and finishing from Vela, with both players switching roles for the second. The game was put beyond doubt when some lovely tenacity and skill from Gael Clichy allowed 16-year-old Wilshire to fire home a crisp shot.

You can see all the goals and highlights here.

All in all, it was another very encouraging performance from Arsenal. While the big guns were a little off the pace there is little doubt that they will come good once they get more training under their belts. What is encouraging are the recent performances from the players who are genuinely on the fringes of the first-team. Guys like Bendtner, Vela, Wilshere and Walcott are doing really well and their efforts will give the manager a welcome headache regarding his starting team for the first game of the season.

Following the match Wenger singled out the performances of both Vela and Bendtner as well as admitting that while he does not feel the need to sign another striker, he still feels Arsenal are one player short of the what they require for this season:

“Vela is integrating very well into the team. Bendtner was already a force at the end of last season and he will confirm that this year. Overall, we are still maybe one player short. But up front we don’t need anybody.”

Regarding the comment about not needing any more strikers, I totally agree. There is absolutely no need for Wenger to sign any more attacking players. Van Persie is world-class, Adebayor and Eduardo (when fit) are wonderful contributors to the side, Bendtner is a season older and stronger while Vela - as the manager says - is integrating well. Add to that the likes of Walcott, new signing Nasri and of course Tomas Rosicky and I think things are looking pretty good up top.

What is interesting about Wenger’s comments about being ‘one player short’ is that they came even after the announcement of the signing of Portuguese midfielder Amaury Bischoff - which suggests to me that there is more to come from Wenger. Whether it’s a midfielder or a defender who is brought in I’m not too sure, but I am pretty certain that Bischoff’s signing will not be the last. As always, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Just on Bischoff, it’s hard to know what sort of role he is set for this season. He’s been given the #28 shirt by Wenger and drafted straight into the first-team squad. I’ve little doubt that if Wenger thinks he’s good enough for Arsenal then he probably is, but I do get the feeling it will be something of a learning year for the Portuguese player.

So that’s about it. An impressive win over a decent side and a new signing - not bad for a day’s work. See you tomorrow.

Have your say on Arsenal v Stuttgart or the signing of Bischoff by leaving a comment.

First up is the 10-2 demolition of Burgenland XI - the side with the strangest and funniest name since Grasshopper-Club from Zürich. Nicklas Bendtner scored four (yes, four), Carlos Vela got three and Jack Wilshire scored two including a well-taken penalty in the second half. Don’t ask me why Arsene Wenger is letting a 16-year-old take penalties with guys like Theo Walcott and Vela on the pitch but regardless, he finished it with great confidence.

The two goals that were conceded really shouldn’t have been but when you’re 10-0 up in a pre-season friendly it’s not really a big deal. It was a clinical performance against a shabby team and it was great to see guys like Bendtner and Vela finishing with such confidence. It might be too early to say just yet, but I expect both to have a decent impact on the Premiership this season.

The positive vibes from the result against Burgenland was made all the more vibey by comments made by Cesc Fabregas following the match. The young Spaniard had previously been quoted as saying that he hadn’t said ‘no’ to a move to Real Madrid, but he poured cold water on those claims with the following comments:

“I have not spoken to any media so it’s frustrating to read quotes that I have supposedly said about my future. I have spent the summer relaxing with my family, friends and girlfriend and I return to training with Arsenal tomorrow.  I think that some people are just trying to make mischief but my intentions are very clear. I am happy here at Arsenal, my future is with Arsenal and the priority is to achieve success and win trophies at Arsenal.”

Pretty emphatic and hardly surprising, isn’t it? I think it’s great that Fabregas has again come out and made his intentions so clear. It just illustrates what a great little guy this great little guy is. I know there’s ultimately no use berating the Spanish clubs for their continual disruptions of players - they’re never going to stop after all - but it is good to see them get shown up for what they do every once in a while.

Moving on now and there’s been a number of bits and pieces floating around with regards to just who will start the season in the middle of the park alongside the irreplaceable Fabregas. Both Denilson and Abou Diaby have staked their claim, with Tomas Rosicky suggesting that it will be the latter who will be given the chance to play by the manager.

“I think that Diaby will be given a big chance to play often in Flamini’s position. He was playing on the left when I was injured, but he is more a centre midfielder, the same type like Patrick Vieira. I expect a lot from him as I know from training that it is difficult to play against him. He has long legs and really is very similar to Vieira. In my opinion, he is able to do very well.”

They are interesting statements, for sure. For a player as talented and experienced as Rosicky to make these sort of comments it suggests that Diaby commands a certain deal of respect in the Arsenal ranks. In contrast, it is difficult to say whether a player like Denilson commands that sort of respect.

It’s fairly clear to that Wenger has an important decision to make. At this stage if I had to pick between Diaby and Denilson for that second central spot I would pick the Frenchman hands down. He has more experience, looks more comfortable on the ball and perhaps most importantly, is more physically intimidating than the still slightly lightweight Denilson.

While neither player has displayed the dogged determination and grit that Mathieu Flamini showed last season, Diaby is a stronger candidate for the role in my eyes. The decision that Wenger has to make is whether he wants to bring in another Flamini or work towards developing Diaby into the player that he is most often compared to; Patrick Vieira.

Regardless, I still think a signing needs to be made in there. We are light on numbers and as the manager has already said, another body is required. Whether it’s Amaury Bischoff or Gareth Barry I don’t really care, as long as Wenger has faith that whoever starts the season alongside Fabregas can be as effective as Flamini was last season.

It’s a tough ask and while I might put that beyond Denilson at this stage, I don’t think it’s beyond Diaby.

Finally today is the relatively big issue of the Arsenal captaincy, and the apparent revelation that last season’s captain - William Gallas - will be holding onto the armband. The Frenchman, the oldest member of the current squad, has admitted that while he made mistakes in his first season as Arsenal captain he is hoping to learn from them going into the new campaign:

“You want to be the best captain and give good advice to your players, but sometimes you can make mistakes as well. This season I know what I’m going to do and I know I am ready to change my way of speaking to the players.”

I actually don’t think that Gallas as captain has been the disaster that the media and a lot of other Arsenal bloggers have labelled it as and am more than happy for him to hold onto the leadership role this season. He made mistakes, for sure, but the important thing is that he learns from them and ensures they do not happen again. If he can then I think Gallas’ vocal nature and desperate will to win will come to the forefront and he will have a good impact this season.

That is it in an epic post today. Once again I apologise for the lack of an update last Friday and yesterday. If you read the note I left in the ‘Quick & to the Point’ section of the blog you’ll know that I broke my foot on Thursday night and have been attending various doctors, X-ray and physio appointments that have got in the way of my blogging. There’s only so much time in a day after all!

Things are back to normal as of today and if I should remind you that if I ever fail to leave a daily post I’ll try and let you know why via the ‘Quick & to the Point’ section. After all, that’s what it’s for.

Cheers and enjoy the positive vibes coming out of the club at the moment.

Have your say on the Burgenland win, Fabregas comments, Diaby v Denilson or Gallas’ captaincy by leaving a comment.