Marouane Chamakh gets off the mark for Arsenal

New signing Marouane Chamakh scored the first goal of his Arsenal career last night as the Gunners romped to a 4-0 victory over Austrian minnows SC Neusiedl.

The Moroccan striker, who joined Arsenal from Bordeaux in the summer, needed just six minutes to open his account after coming on in the second half. He was tripped in the Neusiedl box and, when the referee awarded a penalty, he stepped up and coolly slotted the spot kick home.

He then proved that he is cut from the same cloth as other Arsenal strikers of recent times - by jogging off as if nothing had happened after finding the net. Gunners fans will be hoping it is the first of many nonchalant celebrations from the 26-year-old this season.

It was an evening with plenty of positives for the Premier League side as they ran out 4-0 winners. The other goals came from two of Arsenal's more mercurial players, Carlos Vela and Theo Walcott, and the promising youngster Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.

Last night's tally means that Arsenal have now scored an impressive 11 goals in their first three matches. More importantly, the defence was watertight. Three matches and three clean sheets is evidence of the kind of defensive form that was largely lacking last season.

Another new signing, Laurent Koscielny, looked composed and solid at the back when he was called into action and showed he is capable of filling the void that will be left by Sol Campbell's imminent departure.

The real test of Arsenal's defensive mettle comes on Saturday, when they face AC Milan in their first fixture of the Emirates Cup. Worryingly, Johann Djourou is unlikely to feature as his good performance yesterday was cut short when he limped off after just half an hour.

Next up on the Premier League pre-season talent show is Manchester United's new striker Javier Hernandez, who will make his first appearance for the club against the MLS All Stars in Houston tonight. ·