Arsenal new-boy Marouane Chamakh showed why Arsene Wenger spent nearly a year trying to sign him with a clinical finish in a 1-1 draw against Milan in the Emirates Cup in London, yesterday.
Gunners boss Wenger landed Chamakh on a free transfer from Bordeaux in May after a lengthy courtship and the early signs suggest the Morocco striker will prove to have been worth the wait.
Chamakh marked his first appearance at the Emirates Stadium with a man-of-the-match display capped by a predatory first-half strike.
The Gunners were denied a winning start to their four-team pre-season tournament, however, as Alexandre Pato headed a late equaliser for Milan.
Today, Arsenal face the challenge of Celtic, who drew 2-2 against Lyon earlier.
Wenger has spent most of the close-season attempting to stop Barcelona taking Cesc Fabregas back to the Nou Camp. But, with Fabregas still on holiday, the focus switched to Chamakh and fellow new signing Laurent Koscielny.
Koscielny, a French centre-back who cost £10 million from Lorient, is ear-marked to replace William Gallas at the heart of Arsenal's defence and was steady enough alongside Thomas Vermaelen.
Vermaelen, wearing the captain's armband in Fabregas's absence, almost put Arsenal in front early on with a glancing header that Christian Abbiati clawed to safety.
Koscielny was close to scoring an unfortunate own goal when his attempted block of a shot from former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini sent the ball cannoning onto the crossbar.
But Arsenal always looked lively going forward and Chamakh put the Gunners ahead in the 36th minute.
Andrey Arshavin surged forward and held off Gennaro Gattuso before slipping a pass towards Chamakh, who timed his run perfectly to guide a low shot past Abbiati.
It took a fine stop from Abbiati to stop Tomas Rosicky increasing Arsenal's lead just before half-time as the veteran keeper used his legs to keep out the Arsenal midfielder's snap-shot.
Chamakh threatened again in the second half with a burst down the left flank and a powerful shot that keeper Abbiati blocked at the near-post.
Massimiliano Allegri's Milan, rebuilding after a disappointing effort in Serie A last season, have only just started their pre-season preparations and looked sluggish at times.
But the Italians, cheered on by their former player David Beckham, improved as the game went on and equalised in the 77th minute when Pato's glancing header found the far corner of Lukasz Fabianski's goal.
Today: Milan vs Lyon; Arsenal vs Celtic.