The loudest Arsenal fans were of course situated in the “North Bank” (see above) and were on decent form throughout the game, with some chants for the now legendary Emmanuel Eboue plus a touching rendition of “there’s only one Johnny Hartson”

“Welcome to Underhill Stadium” – undoubtedly THE most heart-warming four words for Gooners suffering from Arsenal withdrawal symptoms and a distinct distaste for media made-up transfer shenanigans.

After a summer of being linked with endless players and seeing our main men linked away from the Club, it’s a relief to have real football back. The result may not have left us over the moon at Underhill, but at this stage of the (pre) season, it is far from the be-all and end-all. The Arsenal are back – a point ironically reinforced by the manner in which we conceded our two goals.

After the temperamental weather across London this past week, the one thing I prayed for on Friday night was no more rain. Barnet without sunshine would be like fish without chips. The football and weather gods thankfully made a deal, so Underhill’s infamous slope was bathed in the good stuff.

The loudest Arsenal fans were of course situated in the “North Bank” (see above) and were on decent form throughout the game, with some chants for the now legendary Emmanuel Eboue plus a touching rendition of “there’s only one Johnny Hartson”. I’m sure I heard a few remixes of the Adebayor tune, especially one about showing him the door. Rather less funny in my opinion was the one about his parent’s fabricated occupations that we’ve heard the Shite Hart Scum sing a few times, and I’m hoping we don’t hear it again. The now departed Adebayor may have pissed people off with his actions, but having defended him against that horrible song it would be hypocritical of us to adopt it now.

Our seats were good insomuch as the players warmed up right in front of us. A bit of comedy was the order of the day as the players emerged in their grey training tops except for one Andrey Arshavin, who jogged out in red. Quickly realising the error of his ways (didn’t he see what the rest of the lads were wearing in the dressing room?!), he scampered back through the tunnel and soon re-emerged with the correct uniform.

He soon got a ticking off from a member of the coaching staff, I assume it was along the lines of: “Andrey you plonker!”

The great Pat Rice barked orders during the warm-up, constantly telling the slackers at the back to get their fingers out of their Arsenals. One man who certainly wasn’t slacking was the returning Tomas Rosicky, who led from the front.

Kinda fitting when you consider that he was given the honour of captaining the team for the day. The boys came out in their new ‘midnight’ blue kit, and while it is not a traditional Arsenal colour, it is certainly easy on the eye. The thing that really grabbed my attention was that the boy Wilshere has grown a few inches since we last saw him – to the extent that he is now taller than Arshavin!

Indeed, it was the aforementioned Arshavin that shone brightest early on. We nominally lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Arshavin playing off Sanchez Watt, although the fluidity of Arshavin, Wilshere and Skipper Tom was such that it often resembled a 4-2-3-1, especially given the deep roles that central-midfielders Randall and Frimpong took up. Our little Russian looked sharp as he dragged a shot wide at the near post after cutting onto his right foot, before forcing a save from the Barnet keeper with a left-footed effort from a seemingly impossible angle. The rebound fell to Watt but some last-ditch defending by the home side stopped us from taking an early lead. Watt also had a shot saved following good work from Wilshere out wide.

Many fans were naturally curious to see our new man in action. Thomas Vermaelen took his place alongside William Gallas in a back-four consisting entirely of central defenders with Silvestre and Djourou manning the flanks. I was pleased to note that in spite of the confusion over his true height, he won the majority of his headers. What he may lack in height was offset by his leap and desire. There was a moment when he was apparently ‘skinned’ in the first-half, but my poor vantage point and Arshavin-esque height (okay, maybe I’m not THAT short) meant I couldn’t quite see what happened.

Having weathered the early storm, Barnet grew into the game without really threatening. Arsenal suffered from a poor final ball as time and time again potential killer passes were underhit or went astray. Chalk it up to rustiness.

There was one near magic moment as Arshavin found Rosicky in the box but the comeback kid couldn’t outwit the home keeper. The defenders also tried to get in the act – Djourou strode forward and was played through but was harshly flagged offside as he raced in on goal, whilst Gallas tried to emulate his younger colleague but failed to receive a return pass.

With the tempo of the game having slowed, we took the lead on 43 minutes. Watt showed good pace down the left and even better technique as his pinpoint cross was met by Arshavin who simply couldn’t miss.

The famous ‘one-nil to the Arsenal’ chant had barely begun before the equaliser came. Barnet won a free-kick in our half and it was whipped in with menace, Ismail Yakubu the beneficiary as he nodded it into the corner. To break the deadlock so-close to half-time before conceding immediately from a set-piece – typical Arsenal. Having not seen a replay of the match I’m not quite sure which individual was at fault, but in truth the whole team as a unit should have kept their concentration.

So the break arrived and we went in level. As is always the case in the pre-season curtain raiser, changes were made en masse. With a 21-man squad however, one (un)lucky soul would have to pull double duty and play both halves. As the second-string warmed up during the break it was evident that we were short of a centre-half. I initially guessed that Djourou would get a chance to strut his stuff in his preferred role but was pleasantly surprised to see Vermaelen stride out, accompanied by the captain’s armband. Having skippered a European great such as Ajax, I’m sure he took to the role like a duck to water.

With the first-team looking rusty, it was up to the nippers to finish the job. Last season this worked in our favour as the hungry kids overcame a one-goal deficit to win 2-1, and this year’s vintage looked to carry on that mantle with an early strike in the second period. Having scored here on the past two occasions, Underhill in July is a happy hunting ground for Nacer Barazite. He continued that run in some style here, lashing home from twenty-yards with his right foot despite pressure from the Barnet defence. The Dutchman had already had one effort blocked prior to his goal and looked in fine fettle.

The half then settled into something of a midfield scrap with neither team fashioning many clear-cut chances. Vermaelen had more of chance to show his worth on the floor, whilst partner Ayling was aerially sound. I was disappointed that full-backs didn’t push on in either halves, but I’m guessing ye olde lungs aren’t pumping as much oxygen as they will be in a few weeks time. Coquelin looked neat and tidy in midfield and for my money outshone his mate Frimpong, who assumed the role of midfield enforcer in the first-half. Whilst Coquelin may not have Frimpong’s hustle and bustle, his tenacity makes up for this and his close control and passing gives him the edge in my opinion. Aside him Conor Henderson had a cultured left foot and was effortlessly spraying passes out wide to Barazite and Sunu, although a few missed their target. I was surprised to see Sunu deployed on the right of midfield as he led the line so well in last season’s glorious youth double, but to his credit he didn’t shirk his defensive responsibilities. The captain of that youth team, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, continued to show his versatility by playing up-front here alongside Jay Simpson – the man who grabbed the winner here last season. With the midfield failing to click, JET had no qualms dropping deep or going wide to receive the ball, but Simpson suffered from the lack of service and didn’t have any chances to exhibit the pace we know he has.

As the game looked to be petering out to a victory for the Gunners, Barnet struck. A frantic scramble in the box saw keeper Vito Mannone spill the ball which allowed Elliot Charles to grab another equaliser. He celebrated like he had just scored the winner in the Champions League final, which elicited a few choice responses from the fans around me. However, his goal clearly stung the team into action as we immediately created their best opening of the half with JET avoiding the offside trap and advancing on goal. He sidestepped one but then dragged his shot agonisingly wide of the post. The kids had their urgency back and for the first time Thomas Cruise made an overlapping run but his fizzed cross was met by no-one in the box. And so it ended.

The result was far from ideal, but let’s face it – it was not high on the list of priorities for the day. The first priority was our players getting their competitive and creative juices flowing (because all the running in the world cannot make up for minutes on the pitch) – check. Secondly, the unscathed return of Rosicky – check. Thirdly, a chance to see Thomas Vermaelen in action – check. As debuts go it was pretty good in my opinion. He showed an assured first touch, composure in possession, has the bonus of being left-footed and was solid on the ground and in the air. He also overcame a few hairy moments whilst facing his own goal when dealing with crosses and on an unfortunate day could have suffered the ignominy of an own goal or two, but he maintained his composure. For this and because he played double the amount of time that anyone else did, he gets my nod for Top Gun (no jokes about Thomas Cruise please).

And last but not least, we’ve got our Arsenal back – check and double-check. And how good it feels.