A key player taken off on a stretcher, shoving and sledging, a touchline row and a slew of yellow cards. All in all, the perfect friendly.

If it was not what Arsenal wanted, it was perhaps what they needed: a chance to show that they are not just pretty, but pretty tough. There was even some silverware at the end of it, the Amsterdam Tournament trophy. Merited for the team’s relatively restrained reactions to some robust challenges by Ajax, as well as the superiority of the London team’s football.

“The fact that you need to kick Arsenal has maybe gone over the border; it’s a well-known thing in England,” Arsene Wenger, the manager, said. During the second half he expressed his disapproval to Henk ten Cate, his opposite number. “When there’s no intention to play the ball, just to hurt the player, I feel you cannot accept it,” Wenger said. “It doesn’t worry me because the best response is always to win.”

They did, deservedly, with a counter-attack of devastating directness in the 87th minute. Gaël Clichy rampaged down the left and fed Robin van Persie, who finished from close range. Seconds later, the former Feyenoord player was carried off by the medics after a foul by Johnny Heitinga. It hurt the same foot that Van Persie broke last season, but he should be fit for Sunday’s match against Fulham.

Van Persie held his temper, just about. “Two years ago, maybe he would have overreacted [to being fouled],” Wenger said. On Saturday, he was used as a lone striker. Alexander Hleb, a man who dribbles like a septuagenarian shuffling a Zimmer frame, was a curious choice to slot in just behind him. Although Hleb’s indecision sent attacks into slow motion, the power and pace of Van Persie and Clichy were effective. William Gallas and Kolo Touré, the centre backs, were highly adventurous and Denilson was doughty in midfield.

Not that Dennis Rommedahl, the Ajax and former Charlton Athletic winger, was drooling. “I think it will be really difficult for Arsenal this season,” he said. “They have a few young players and although they have experience, they have still to compete at the highest level.” Arsenal face Sparta Prague next week in the Champions League third qualifying round and Tomas Rosicky has mixed emotions. “They were my team, they still are my team in the Czech Republic,” the midfield player said. “I started to play there when I was 6 years old until I was 20. It’s not a bad draw for us, but for me it’s a bit strange. It would have been better to play them in the group stage.”

Ajax 0

Aresenal 1 Van Persie 87

Ajax (442): M Stekelenburg 6 G Ogararu 6, G van der Wiel 6 (sub: D Rommedahl, 24min, 8), T Vermaelen 5, J Colin 4 H Maduro 5 (sub: M Donald, 76), J Heitinga 6, W Sneijder 8, U Emanuelson 5 Kennedy 7, K Huntelaar 6. Substitutes not used: E Heijblok, V Anita, J Goossens. Booked: Heitinga, Colin, Vermaelen.

Arsenal (4411): J Lehmann 5 B Sagna 5 (sub: J Hoyte, 86), K Touré 6, W Gallas 6, G Clichy 8 E Eboué 7, Denilson 8, M Flamini 6, T Rosicky 7 (sub: Eduardo, 62, 7) A Hleb 5 R van Persie 7 (sub: A Traore, 90). Substitutes not used: L Fabianski, P Senderos, A Song, N Bendtner. Booked: Eboué, Gallas, Van Persie.

Referee K Blom Attendance 30,000

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• TheGame

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football