Everton 1 Arsenal 6

ARSENE WENGER'S Gunners stuck two fingers up to their critics with a six-goal demolition of Everton.

Arsenal boss Wenger has taken stick for offloading Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, while restricting his summer spending to only Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Many experts believe the Londoners will be the club to lose their spot in the Big Four.

But there may have to be a rethink in some quarters after a devastating display tore apart David Moyes' supposedly solid side.

New boy Vermaelen doubled Denilson's opener before William Gallas made it three before the break.

Cesc Fabregas netted a second-half double before Eduardo scored a sixth two minutes from time.

Louis Saha grabbed an injury-time consolation for the home side but there were hardly any Blue shirts left in the ground to see it.

Everton's wantaway defender Joleon Lescott was given a surprisingly warm reception by the home fans.

But Lescott and his defensive partners were soon rocking as Arsenal quickly got into their stride.

Nicklas Bendtner shot just over and Robin van Persie had an effort deflected by Lescott.

And the breakthrough came after 26 minutes thanks to a flowing Gunners move.

Bendtner showed superb control to chest down a long ball and wriggle away from two defenders before finding Fabregas.

The Barcelona target quickly shifted the ball on and Denilson was on hand to swerve the ball past Tim Howard from 25 yards.

Denilson quickly made his mark at the other end as well as he cleared off the line from Marouane Fellaini.

And the visitors killed off the home side with two goals in four minutes just before the break.

First, Vermaelen found himself unmarked to head home Van Persie's free-kick.

And Gallas also made the most of slack marking to glance in Fabregas' set-piece.

Everton were grateful for the half-time whistle to compose themselves and give Moyes time to come up with Plan B, or C for that matter.

But any hope the Toffees had of clawing their way back into the game were shattered three minutes into the second half when the home side lost possession.

Van Persie sent Fabregas through and he stroked home to make it four.

More desperate Everton defending then allowed Fabregas to collect Manuel Almunia's throw out from goal.

The Spaniard turned with no one within 20 yards of him and ran towards the Everton goal. Still there was no pressure on the ball and Fabregas simply moved himself across the 18-yard box before drilling past Howard into the far corner.

Eduardo found the net from close range on 88 minutes before Saha replied in injury-time.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert (Gosling 58), Yobo, Lescott, Baines, Osman (Saha 58), Neville, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini, Jo (Rodwell 58). Subs not used: Nash, Vaughan, Duffy, Baxter. Goals: Saha 90.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Fabregas (Ramsey 72), Song Billong, Denilson, Bendtner (Eboue 63), van Persie (Eduardo 72), Arshavin. Subs not used: Mannone, Silvestre, Gibbs, Merida. Goals: Denilson 26, Vermaelen 37, Gallas 41, Fabregas 48, 69, Eduardo 88.

Att: 39,309

Rosicky: We fear nobody

TOMAS ROSICKY has slammed those doubting Arsenal's title credentials and roared: We're not afraid of anyone.

Czech international Rosicky has returned to action following 18 months out with a series of niggling injuries.

Yet despite seeing Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure join Manchester City this summer he points to the Gunners' pre-season form as an indicator of a bright future.

Yesterday's 3-0 win over Scottish champions Rangers to lift the Emirates Cup made it six friendly games unbeaten.

And attacking midfielder Rosicky, 28, said: "I don't think the best players have left.

"We have still got Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas and they are great players.

"I don't see why we should be afraid of anyone.

"I see the potential and think we need to focus on what we have got.

"We have got plenty of options and that is why I feel we will be stronger than last season.

"We know what we have to do better and we are not blind. I can see the positives.

"I hope we can achieve something together and we will fight for trophies this year."

Arsenal 3 Rangers 0

ON the day the Arsenal fans chanted for Patrick Vieira, it was a new kid on the block delivering the statement of intent.

Jack Wilshere, 17, is roughly half Vieira's age.

He was only four when the Frenchman - now 33 - signed from AC Milan before becoming a North London legend.

But there is no doubt the attacking midfielder is a massive talent who you will see a lot more of this season.

Playing in front of watching England boss Fabio Capello, Wilshere scored two goals and picked up the star man award against the Scottish champions.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said: "I am very pleased with Jack. He always had his football but he has gained some power now. A year ago he had to go across the pitch, now he can go straight forward.

"He is comfortable on the ball and can take people on. He showed that in both games in the Emirates Cup. At 16 years of age, I put him in the dressing room with the first team so he could practise with the players.

"He has benefited a lot from the special treatment. How many games will he play this year? I don't know.

"It is difficult to keep the right pace in his progress. But he will not play a whole league season. Definitely not.

"You have to say he is physically strong because he has a strong body. But it is difficult to predict how many games."

As for his chances of gatecrashing the England squad at next year's World Cup in South Africa, Wenger said: "Over two games like that, Capello won't make a decision on Wilshere. You never know. It's Capello's problem, not mine.

"The World Cup is not until next year. Let's first see how he improves and plays. You have got to respect the development of players."

Wilshere scored the opening goal after less than two minutes yesterday.

Eduardo netted the second via the post and then Wilshere grabbed the goal of the game with a clever half-volley 18 minutes from time.

After beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Saturday, Arsenal ended up winning the tournament.

Wenger added: "We had a lot of sharp movement and creativity in our game. We had good technical ability. It was a good team performance."

Rangers boss Walter Smith said: "Today was a sharp reminder to our boys of what we will come up against at the top level of European football.

"But it is not very often we come up against a team who play like Arsenal play. They were excellent.

"We had a very long afternoon in the dugout.

"It is no surprise Arsenal got to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season when you see the level at which they play."

Cup Emirates-Arsenal 2 Atletico Madrid 1

Andrey Arshavin struck twice in the final four minutes as Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 to end Day One on top of the Emirates Cup standings.

To be honest, little had happened in this game before Jack Wilshere’s introduction at half time. The teenage midfielder tantalised the Spanish defence for 45 minutes however it would be a Russian who won the game for the home side.

Arshavin seemed to have done that in the 86th minute when he volleyed in from a Cesc Fabregas cross however German Pacheco levelled seconds later.

A draw seemed certain but, then again, nothing is certain with Arshavin on the pitch. In the dying seconds, he raced onto an errant backheader, flicked the ball past the keeper and squeezed the ball home from an almost impossible angle.

It was four minutes of madness after a pretty mundane 86. But it was good enough to win the game and puts Arsenal in pole position to regain their home trophy.

Wenger always intended to spread his squad across this two-game weekend but, nonetheless, his side this afternoon was reasonably strong.

The most significant news was the return of Tomas Rosicky after 19 months away. Thomas Vermaelen had been forced off at the end of the friendly at Hannover on Wednesday and, as a result, did not appear today. The formation was the now established wide 4-3-3 but this time Robin van Persie was flanked on the left by Nicklas Bendtner and on the right by Emmanuel Eboue.

Atletico started with Diego Forlan up front and Jose Antonio Reyes on the right. The former Manchester United forward was never going to be that popular among the home crowd but the announcement of the latter was cheered by the Emirates faithful. Reyes had a record of 23 goals in 110 appearances during his three years at Highbury.

It was the Spaniard who provided the first telling moment of the game. In the sixth minute, Reyes took the corner from the right, Raul Garcia nodded on at the near post and Sergio Aguero sent his header into the sidenetting at the far. A player of his stature should have done better.

Rosicky nearly had a made an immediate impact on his return but, despite his finger-wagging protestations to the assistant referee, he was correctly called offside before slamming the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area.

It was a bright beginning but it could not be maintained. Opportunities were scarce in a mundane first 45 minutes.

Forlan and Florent Sinama-Pongolle both had half-chances with headers. However, generally, Arsenal were the slicker side.

That said, the most they could muster was a curling cross from Armand Traore than caused Atletico keeper Sergio Asenjo to bat the ball away while Van Persie had a free-kick deflected over.

Three minutes from the break, the Dutchman fed Eboue on the left. The Ivorian cut in and fired straight at Asenjo, who stood firm.

Wenger replaced Rosicky, Eboue and Traore with Wilshere, Fran Merida and Gael Clichy at the start of the second half.

The latter pair were playing their first pre-season games of 2009/10. While the first of the trio, Wilshere, showed class from the off as Arsenal took control.

Three minutes in he sent Sagna clear on the right and the full back’s low cross was backflicked towards goal by Van Persie only for John Heitinga to knock the ball off the line.

Almost immediately, Bendtner controlled Wilshere’s lofted cross at the far post and blazed over when, at least, he should have employed the keeper.

Just past the hour, substitute Maxi Rodriguez sent in a shot from distance and Mannone could only half-punch the ball behind.

However within seconds Clichy sent over a tantalising cross from the left and Wilshere fooled his marker on the byline before laying the ball back to Ramsey. The Welshman had time and space, on reflection perhaps too much. His powerful shot was a parried by Asenjo.

It was Ramsey’s last contribution. He joined Bendtner and Van Persie as they were replaced by Eduardo, Arshavin and Fabregas.

It was perhaps the boost Arsenal needed. Within seconds Wilshere clipped another clever ball to the far post and Merida slid in seconds too late.

Both sides went for the win towards the end. Rodriguez fired a shot across the face of goal then Mannone parried a swerving drive from Borja Baston on to the bar.

Four minutes from time, Arshavin had seemingly won it won he volleyed in a Fabregas cross but Pacecho’s breakaway strike proved otherwise.

So Arshavin did what Arshavin does – he won it again. The 27-year-old raced on to a misplaced backheader, beat the keeper and turned to ball home.

An incredible finish. Roll on Sunday.