“I will maybe try to give him 45 minutes against Rangers but I was happy with him and we’ll see where we go from here. Celtic are very hard to play against because they work so hard, but the positive thing is that he had no pain. He helped us a lot and won us space and time when he came on.”
Vieira’s contract expires next summer, although Wenger says he is confident the Frenchman will sign a new one before the start of the season. He said: “Patrick is 27 and has the best years in front of him. That’s why we don’t want to lose him.”
Arsenal, who open their Premier League campaign against Everton on August 16, were given a tough time by last season’s Uefa Cup finalists. After their 4-0 defeat by Manchester United in Seattle, Celtic were anxious to reassert themselves, yet their line-up was not manager Martin O’Neill’s first-choice.
The same could be said of Arsenal, with Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires out after playing in the Confederations Cup. The unfamiliar look to both sides extended to their new away kits — Celtic’s black, Arsenal’s yellow — but the eagerness of the understudies on both sides gave us a sharp opening period. Ray Parlour tackled as though he was playing in a Premiership title decider rather than a pre-season friendly. His first target was a soft one — little Shaun Maloney — but then he went to the other extreme by catching Bobo Balde high and late. Dougie McDonald, the referee, had a quiet word after both incidents but kept his cards close to his chest.
Celtic’s Stilian Petrov was at his forceful best. When one of his many surges ended, the Arsenal defence dithered as though expecting to be facing a free kick. The ball broke to Maloney clear on goal but his left-foot shot was saved by Jens Lehmann, the one new signing on show. Petrov was ably supported by Liam Miller but Neil Lennon, the third member of Celtic’s central midfield, found himself bypassed when Ashley Cole played a one-two with Jeremie Aliadiere and slipped a cute pass through to Francis Jeffers only for the striker to shoot wide. Increasingly impressive, Miller found Petrov with a clever chip into the box and the Bulgarian international drew another save from Lehmann.
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The most interesting of several half-time substitutions was the introduction of Giovanni van Bronckhorst by Wenger. The former Rangers midfielder was stationed on the left as Arsenal changed to 4-4-2, with Kanu and Edu also coming on and Pennant, Gilberto Silva and Aliadiere departing. The biggest cheer from the Arsenal supporters was for Vieira, who trotted to put those long limbs through a warm-up and acknowledged the singing of his name with a wave.
O’Neill also shuffled his pack, with Bobby Petta replacing Jamie Smith and making an instant impact with some jinking darts at Lauren. Petta continued to nag at Arsenal’s right flank, and the diversion he created indirectly led to Celtic’s goal. The Dutch winger played the ball inside to Lennon, whose spinning chip was flicked on by Mohammed Sylla to Miller. He cushioned the ball expertly then hooked it over his head, catching Lehmann by surprise and capping his performance with a fine goal.
It was getting serious and Wenger immediately sent Vieira into the breach for Freddie Ljungberg. Celtic could have extended their lead as Shaun Maloney drew a save from Lehmann with a shot that was a trifle too straight.
Stanislav Varga was then duped by Kanu out on the right. The Nigerian looked to square the ball for a Jeffers tap-in, but the ball came back to him off Ulrik Laursen and he squeezed it past Magnus Hedman at the near post.
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Celtic (4-5-1): Hedman (Marshall 74min); McNamara (Agathe 46min), Balde (Valgaeren 63min), Mjallby (Varga 46min), Crainey (Laursen 63min); Sylla, Miller, (Wallace 74min), Petrov (Lambert 63min), Lennon, Smith (Petta 46min); Maloney (Beattie 74min)
Arsenal (4-3-3): Lehmann; Lauren, Toure (Cygan 59min) Campbell, Cole (Clichy 79min); Parlour, Gilberto Silva (Edu 46min), Ljungberg (Vieira 57min); Pennant (Kanu 46min), Jeffers, Aliadiere (van Bronckhorst 46min)
Referee: D McDonald
Attendance: 44,396