Da Silva stars in Gunners win

Croatian nets winner against Lazio

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 2nd August 2007

nicklas bendtner

Bendtner: On target

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Arsenal continued their encouraging pre-season form with a 2-1 victory over Lazio at the Amsterdam Tournament.

Eduardo da Silva, making his first Arsenal appearance since being granted a work permit, scored the winning goal to cap a fine individual performance.

The Gunners started slowly and almost fell behind when Goran Pandev rounded Manuel Almunia in the 14th minute, but Philippe Senderos raced back to produce a fine saving tackle.

Nicklas Bendtner then opened the scoring for Arsenal after 18 minutes as he took advantage of a piece of good fortune to fire the ball home from a tight angle on the right.

Arsenal looked like adding to their lead as they carved out a number of chances with some typically eye-catching build-up play, but a moment of hesitation at the back allowed Pandev to equalise with a low shot in the 40th minute.

Arsene Wenger's young side reasserted their control early in the second half and da Silva demonstrated his predatory skills with a towering header from Tomas Rosicky's corner after 54 minutes.

Despite one or two scares in defence Arsenal continued to play impressively and nearly added a third when Justin Hoyte hit the post late on.

It finished 2-1 to give Arsenal five points - three for the win and two for the goals they scored - ahead of Saturday's next game against hosts Ajax.