Arsenal Fight Back Against Stuttgart

Arsene Wenger's young guns looked to be on the road to defeat after Yıldıray Baştürk gave the hosts the lead, but a startlingly energetic showing as the match wore on eventually saw the Gunners manage a convincing and well-deserved victory.

In the first half Robin Van Persie look somewhat active, but the likes of Adebayor were not at the races. Furthermore the central defence struggled against die Roten's long ball game. Debutant Samir Nasri, meanwhile, was impressive.

Several changes came at half time, with Vela and Bendtner gracing the pitch, but in fact the problems for Arsenal were still at the back as a rejuvenated Stuttgart side took the lead.

Baştürk opened the scoring 51 minutes in after being played through by Lanig to beat Fabianski.

Just eight minutes later, though, Carlos Vela equalised after good work from Nicklas Bendtner, and then Bendtner himself then capitalised on a give-and-go involving the young Mexican to grab his side's second.

Finally Jack Wilshere followed up his goals against the Burgenland XI with another fine strike, unmarked, to seal the win for Arsenal.

In the end Wenger has some food for thought, not least in terms of the defence and the status of some of his youngsters, but overall he can be very pleased with his side's showing.

Arsenal Youngsters Hitting All The Right Notes

The Gunners followed up a 10-2 romp against the Burgenland XI, with a come-from-behind win against VfB Stuttgart last night, with new boys Carlos Vela and Jack Wilshere again amongst the goals, as well as established youngster Nicklas Bendtner.

After Yildiray Basturk has put the hosts ahead, Vela equalised after good work from Bendtner, before the Dane himself then capitalised on a give-and-go involving the young Mexican to grab his side's second. Finally Jack Wilshere produced another fine strike to seal the win for Arsenal.

Wenger told Arsenal TV: "It is good for the confidence to win here and you could see that the young players did well again. I believe the strikers have shown it can work.

"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."

On Wilshire, Wenger, said: "He has talent and gets experience in these kinds of games, he learns a lot, but he is here for that."

There was also a debut for summer signing Samir Nasri, who rather surprisingly was fielded as an orthodox central midfielder rather than as an attacker.

"It was a very positive performance for his first game," added Wenger. "He has all it takes to be a good player in this team."

Arsenal £7.5M Richer Thanks To Bentley

According to the Daily Telegraph, Bentley's original move from Arsenal to Ewood Park in 2006 included a 50 per cent sell-on clause, which has now reaped major dividends for the club that he used to be a trainee with.

Spurs are reported to have paid £15 million for Bentley, with the fee even likely to increase up to £17 million based on performance milestones such as appearances.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, in the meanwhile, has extended another oliver branch to former keeper Jens Lehmann following their 3-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart yesterday.

Lehmann, 38, opted to return to Germany after having been left to languish on the Arsenal bench last season once Wenger abruptly decided that Spanish stopper Manuel Almunia deserved to be the new No. 1.

"He will always be remembered as a great goalkeeper, a good influence and a super professional," said Wenger.

"We had our differences but always with respect. As long as a guy comes in in the morning and gives 100 per cent to do well then you respect him."

Gallas Shrugs Off PSG Rumours

Gallas, who has been at the club for two seasons, endured a forgettable end to last season, with many holding him responsible for Arsenal's collapse after he threw a tantrum when the Gunners were held by Birmingham City in the first of what proved to be four straight draws followed by a loss that knocked them out of contention for the Premier League title.

He has, however, received backing from within the club since, yet rumours have persisted he may leave for Paris-Saint Germain, as the French capital club look to rebuild following a season in which they were uncomfortably close to relegation.

They have already signed Ludovic Giuly and Claude Makelele and were close to a third French veteran in Lilian Thuram, only for the deal to be cancelled after potentially life-threatening heart ailment that in fact killed Thuram's brother was found to be something the legendary defender is also suffering from.

Gallas has been mooted as another option, with many sources continuing to speculate that the former Chelsea stopper is unsettled, but he has now moved to squad speculation, writing on his own official website: "I do not know where this rumour came from, but I've never had any contact with PSG.

"Personally, I feel very happy at Arsenal, at the end of this season I will have one year on my contract and a return to France is, for now, not on the agenda."

In other news, Arsenal are hot on the trail of Hearts of Oak teenage prodigy, Tawrick Jibril.

The 16-year-old trialled with the Gunners earlier this year and has since been mooted for a move to either England's capital or Spain's, with Atletico Madrid close to landing the Ghanaian.

Atleti's' failure to close the deal has reopened the door for Arsenal, who may seal his signature in the coming weeks.

Wenger Sweating On Champions League Draw

Arsenal, like Liverpool, will have to endure a home-and-away contest in order to be in included in the Champions League group stages, and with the likes of Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray as possible opponents, it is fully understandable that the Frenchman is apprehensive.

"There are quite a few teams we would like to avoid," he admitted to told Arsenal TV. "That is why it is better not to look at it. We will just take who we get.

"We just have to improve now, to use the two tournaments we play to get physically stronger and better, then we will play who we get."

What follows is the full list of names in the draw:

SEEDED TEAMS: Liverpool; Barcelona; Arsenal; Schalke; Juventus; Rangers/Kaunas; Marseille; Steaua Bucharest; Panathinaikos/Dinamo Tbilisi; IFK Gothenburg/Basle; Olympiacos; Fenerbahce/MTK Hungaria; Shakhtar Donetsk; Anderlecht/BATE; Fiorentina; Spartak Moscow.

UNSEEDED TEAMS: Atletico Madrid; Sheriff Tiraspol/Sparta Prague; Drogheda/Dynamo Kiev; Levski Sofia; Slavia Prague; Galatasaray; Inter Baku/Partizan Belgrade; Vitoria Guimaraes; Domzale/Dinamo Zagreb; Beitar Jerusalem/Wisla Krakow; Standard Liege; Twente Enschede; Tampere/Artmedia Bratislava; Aalborg/Modrica; Brann/Ventspils; Anorthosis Famagusta/Rapid Vienna

Ricketts Warns Bentley Of Arsenal Fans' Ire

Former Arsenal midfielder David Bentley completed his £15million transfer from Blackburn Rovers to White Hart Lane on Wednesday, a move that will earn the Gunners £7.5 million thanks to a sell-on clause in the deal that took him to Ewood Park in 2005. But that windfall won’t insulate him from the contempt of Arsenal fans, particularly since Bentley revealed a lifelong passion for Spurs at his press conference.

Now Rohan Ricketts, a close-friend and former Arsenal team-mate of England international Bentley, 23, has warned him that will now be despised by Gunners.

Ricketts speaks from personal experience, having moved from Highbury to White Hart Lane himself in 2002.

“I played with David in the same Arsenal side that won the FA Youth Cup,” Ricketts told The Sun.

“We go back a long way and we have stayed good pals, so I’m really pleased for him that’s he’s signed for a big club like Tottenham.

“Of course, Arsenal fans won’t like it at all and I’m sure that when he goes back to the Emirates they’ll give him a really rough time. I remember when I first went back to Arsenal with Spurs.

“The fans booed me every time I touched the ball and I copped some really bad flak because the clubs are such rivals. The same will happen to David and I’m positive the Arsenal fans will get on his back.

“But at the end of the day, the club didn’t want him so I’m sure he won’t care. He’ll just get on with his job and not let it affect him.

“I can understand why he left Arsenal because he wasn’t getting regular football. He had competition from the likes of Robert Pires and Freddy Ljungberg, who were world-class.

“A player of David’s quality must play first-team football and Arsenal just couldn’t deliver that.

“The fans should understand that. I was in the same boat. As a young player at a club like Arsenal, they have the luxury of picking the very best and some of us had to move.

“Now he’s good enough to play for Arsenal but it’s their own fault for letting him go. He’s just trying to broaden his horizons and better himself. There’s nothing wrong with that.

“It’s a great move for him because Spurs is a club with a bit more potential than Blackburn. They will be pushing for a Champions League spot, which is what a player like David Bentley needs.”

Milan Beat Inter On Penalties To Lift The TIM Trophy

The Rossoneri started the game brightly with Kaka going close early on following his super run on goal before Julio Cesar was forced to smother the danger.

Inter then responded with Luis Figo playing a brilliant one-two with Jimenez before Abbiati pushed the drive out for a corner but the Nerazzurri failed to capitalise.

The game began to pick up pace midway through with both teams searching for a winner and it was new signing, Sulley Ali Muntari’s turn to test the Milan defence.

The Ghanaian unleashed a superb drive from distance which saw Abbiati make an equally impressive save to prevent Inter from going a goal to the good.

Kaka once again went on one of his trademark runs which left Esteban Cambiasso for dead. However it was another brilliant save from Cesar which denied him.

Neither side were then able to take the lead and the game was decided via a penalty shoot out.

Kaka stepped up first to send Toldo, who replaced Cesar, the wrong way before Adriano levelled for Inter by fooling Abbiati from 12 yards.

It was then down to Massimo Oddo but the stopper saw his tame effort saved by Toldo. Luis Figo also had his effort saved by Abbiati who gathered comfortably.

Jankulovski then restored Milan’s lead before Suazo hit home to level the scores.

Favalli and Jimenez both missed their efforts before Brocchi and Santon stuck theirs away comfortably.

Digao then restored Milan’s lead before Muntari missed his.

The 4-3 result means Milan win the Trofeo Tim with four points with Juve ending runners up also with four points but Milan had the better head to head record. Inter finish the tournament with just one point.