Stuttgart Kick-a-Bout

Arsenal beat Stuttgart 3-1 last night. Watching the game on Arsenal TV, it looked like both sides took it quite seriously, at least in the first half, with some heavy challenges from both sides.

As always, its wise to take these pre-season games with an unhealthy large dose of salt, but they have revealed AW's plans in years gone by (e.g. Eboue at right back, Sagna being bloody good, Hleb playing in the centre etc). So, what were the talking points from last night?

Well, number one for me was Eboue playing in central midfield alongside Denilson, who I thought both did more than ok. I know Eboue took a massive amount of stick last season, and rightly so on most occassions, but if he could avoid the amateur dramatics and get stuck in, then he might do well in this position. For a start, like all good defensive midfielders, he has the willingness to fight dirty. He might pick up red cards, but thats fine by me. Eboue - everyone hates him, but he don't care...

Nasri can play. Looks top drawer. The combination of him down one wing and Theo down the other will put the fear of god into any defence. Vela and Bendtner also did very well second half up top. Vela looks a great prospect.

Djourou played the full 90 minutes at centre back. Very much the forgotten man after his loan spell at Birmingham. Could be another one to come through this season.

A lot has already been said about how good Jack Wilshere is, and its all true. Unless something goes badly wrong, this guy is a star in the making.

So having taken my unhealthy does of salt, I'm really quite optimistic about how good these young players are. Lastly, lets not get too worked up about Amaury Bischoff - he is not going to be Pele, but equally he is not going to have cost us a penny. The margins of AW's squads are littered with weirdo cheap signings who hang around for a bit and then sign for Dundee (answers on a postcard who that was..).