News: Arsenal produced a dominant performance against hosts Ajax, but were forced to settle for their second successive goalless draw in the Amsterdam Tournament.
The Gunners, who drew 0-0 with River Plate on Friday, were by far the more impressive side last night but try as they might they could find no way past the outstanding Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Stekelenburg conjured up a host of magnificent saves in the second half to keep the game goalless.
Yesterday's other match saw Argentinian giants River Plate beat Panathinaikos 1-0, meaning Ajax, who beat the Greek club 3-2 on Friday, finished top of the standings for the fourth year in succession.
Jose Antonio Reyes, who was named as the player of the tournament, impressed again for the Gunners but he was unable to make the most of the plethora of chances that fell his way last night.
He had three opportunities to net in a manic three-minute spell in the first half as the Ajax defence went absent without leave.
The Dutch side contributed fully to an enjoyable clash but they were often forced to play second fiddle to an impressive Arsenal. In fact, the hosts barely threatened the Arsenal goal, although Ashley Cole needed to be alert to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic with another goalline clearance after Jens Lehmann had failed to collect a corner.
But, even though they were second best to Arsenal, the draw was enough to see Ajax finish top of the pile for yet another season.
The London club are bracing themselves for an official approach from Real Madrid for Patrick Vieira.
Though reports from Spain last week that Vieira had agreed personal terms and was certain to join the Bernabeu side were premature, they have been interpreted by Arsenal as part of an orchestrated campaign to unsettle their captain.
Madrid reportedly lodged a £10 million bid in February, yet have failed to approach Arsenal's £35 million valuation for the player. With a month left of the transfer window and Vieira remaining silent over the transfer, Arsenal expect a new move from Madrid this week.
Arsene Wenger has accused England's medical staff of mistreating Sol Campbell's injuries, claiming he played throughout England's Euro 2004 campaign with an achilles problem.
The injury has failed to heal over the summer and will now keep him out for the first four weeks of the Premiership season.
"It is a big blow to us," said Wenger. "Campbell has tendon damage which went undetected and I would say we will be without him for at least six weeks. "They thought it was a minor problem but we discovered the true extent of the damage when he came back and had an MRI scan.
"The injury was much worse than the medical staff thought in the English camp and, if he was treated earlier, he would have had a better chance of starting the season.
"A tendon problem is very difficult to detect unless you do an MRI scan and you can see how bad the damage is. But they didn't do one and that's why we discovered the extent of the damage afterwards."
