A Kenny Gillet cracker of a free kick gave the Bees a half time lead, but Arsenal came back with two second half strikes to give the Gunners a 2-1 victory at sunny Underhill this afternoon.

A light shower shortly before kickoff gave the pitch an extra lustre, but credit must go to groundsman Nathan Chapman for presenting such a fine playing surface.

Barnet selected possibly their first choice line up, while the first half Arsenal team featured many with considerable first team experience, such as , Almunia, Sagna, Clichy, Denilson, Walcott and Bendtner whilst the £5m teenager Aaron Ramsay wore the red jersey for the first time.

Naturally Arsenal looked more comfortable on the ball, but the Barnet players worked hard at their game and were able, on occasions, to take the play to their more illustrious opponents.

After 16 minutes a well rehearsed drill at a free kick from the edge of the box set up Gillet to fire left footed past a hapless Almunia, a Bees lead that was not totally out of the blue.

Barnet were doing a good job of holding the Gunners at bay, although Bendtner shaved a post with an effort just before the end of the first forty five minutes which could have brought the teams level.

Being that Arsenal had the bulk of the possession the Barnet players were working that much harder at chasing and harrying their opponents and this would be a crucial factor since in the second half when Arsenal sent out an entirely new group of players and their fresh legs gave them an edge over the now tiring Bees.

In the second period a neat finish by Jay Simpson and a coolly taken opportunity by Nacer Barazite, who incidentally scored in this fixture last year, gave the Gunners victory, but Bees boss Paul Fairclough post match was to reflect on his disappointment that he side could not hang onto their lead since in his opinion the two Gunners goals were down to defensive errors.

The game was lacking some of the commitment you find in competitive matches, but as pre season fixtures go this was probably a worthwhile exercise for both sets of players and spectators.

David Bloomfield