Arsene Wenger has every reason to be a contented man. After a solid pre-season so far, his young Arsenal side came from behind last night to record an impressive 3-1 win against German side VfB Stuttgart.
Goals from Carlos Vela, Nicklas Bendtner and 16-year-old Jack Wilshere ensured the victory, which should provide great encouragement to supporters of the North London team. Wenger also seemed happy with performance of his players, telling Arsenal.com:
"Vela is a little bit like Eduardo da Silva, and Nicklas we already know from the end of last season is a very powerful striker. They both did very well."
Another encouraging aspect of the display was the debut performance of Samir Nasri, Arsenal's £12.5m summer signing, who got 61 minutes under his belt:
"It was a very positive performance for his first game, he has all it takes to be a good player in this team."
While Arsenal lost the likes of Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb in the early part of summer, recent news has been more positive. Transfer rumours surrounding Emmanuel Adebayor have quietened down, and the club yesterday announced the signing of another exciting youngster, Portuguese right-back Amaury Bischoff. The 16-year-old, formerly of Werder Bremen, is highly rated in the game and looks set to be another of Wenger's masterful acquisitions.
To top it all off, the club look set to receive around £7m from Blackburn, as a result of David Bentley's sale to arch-rivals Tottenham. Such funds will be welcomed by Wenger, who may well use them to make another addition in this transfer window.
But it is the pre-season performances of his youthful charges that will most impress the Arsenal manager. Both Vela and Nasri look to have adapted well to their new club, and should contribute greatly to the upcoming Premiership campaign. The return from injury of Bacaray Sagna, and soon Eduardo da Silva, will also be a massive boost to a club still reeling from last season's disappointments.
Arguably, it was Arsenal's lack of fighting spirit, coupled with a smaller squad size that cost them trophies last year. Having added a few new faces, and with many youngsters ready to make the step up, squad size should be less of a problem this year. With another year's experience, the younger members of the first team should also be even better this time out.
But more importantly, the memory of bitter defeat should have created a desire within the squad to win trophies, and a determination not to be beaten. Mentally tougher, they should be better prepared for the 08/09 campaign.
With performances like Stuttgart, Arsenal are already showing they mean business. The club, and the fans, have every reason to be optimistic.
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