Van Persie settles feisty tie

Arsenal claim Amsterdam Tournament success

By Mark Buckingham   Last updated: 5th August 2007   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Van Persie settles feisty tie

Van Persie: Winning goal

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Robin van Persie's late goal earned Arsenal the Amsterdam Tournament honours after a 1-0 win over Ajax.

In a tetchy game against the hosts, the Holland international's deflected strike three minutes from time ensured The Gunners finished top of the four-team table.

The tackles flew in from both sides during the 90 minutes, although Ajax were perhaps the most culpable of the two teams.

Arsenal were on top in the early stages and Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg produced a superb reflex save to keep out Kolo Toure's close-range effort from Van Persie's clipped free-kick.

At the opposite end, substitute Dennis Rommedahl almost had an immediate impact as the winger cut in and fizzed a shot just off target.

Hedwiges Maduro's long-range drive dipped narrowly over, while Jens Lehmann was stretched to push out Wesley Sneijder's free-kick.

Deflected winner

In the second half, Clichy was denied at the near post by Stekelenburg, while another Sneijder free-kick rocketed past the goal.

On 74 minutes, Van Persie should have given Arsenal the lead after showing quick feet in the box before being denied by Stekelenburg.

The Ajax keeper then denied substitute Eduardo da Silva from close range before Lehmann tipped over Klaas Jan Huntelaar's header.

With three minutes to go, Arsenal made the breakthrough as Clichy set up Van Persie after a barnstorming run and the striker dispatched his shot past Stekelenburg via the aid of a deflection.

There was a scare before the final whistle when Van Persie was stretchered off after another robust tackle, although he was soon back on the field to be part of the trophy presentation.

Click Here for Your Free Bet