Yaya Sanogo finally scores his first Arsenal goals against Benfica in Emirates Cup

Arsenal looked in control against a rather lacklustre Benfica side, as Arsenal fans got to see the players for the first time since last season.

Yaya Sanogo grabbed four goals, including a first half hat-trick to steal the show, while Alexis Sanchez and Calum Chambers made their first Arsenal appearances.

The roar of the crowd as Sanchez came on in the second half was deafening. It is quite clear what the signing of the former Barcelona winger means to the us Arsenal fans, who have a lot of optimism for the season ahead. That is something which is very much different to this time last year, but we going into the new season as F.A Cup holders and hoping to see the same kind of football as we showed in the first half of last season.

I settled into my seat, up above the goal at the clock end of the Emirates just as the first game of the afternoon, Monaco v Valencia, kicked off. That was a fairly entertaining game but I was eagerly waiting for Arsenal v Benfica of course, but I didn't expect to see Sanogo so on form.

The French forward looked his usual self early on but we were ecstatic when Aaron Ramsey turned his man, darted down the pitch, and passed the ball into the path of Sanogo to back heel the ball into the net. His dance moves showed how happy he was too.

He pushed on from there but nobody expected him to get another three goals before being substituted late on for Chuba Akpom.

Joel Campbell also made his first Arsenal start after returning from Olympiakos on loan and featuring for Costa Rica at the World Cup. His goal was well taken, drilling home a volley, and Wenger has said he has first team plans for the 22-year-old.

The performance of right-back Hector Bellerin mustn't go unnoticed as we were taken back by his star man performance. He looked more than comfortable on the ball, confident on taking players on, and did nothing wrong all game. He may even give Debuchy a little competition this season if he carries on in the same way.

Admittedly, this is only pre-season and there were mistakes here and there. Monreal looked dodgy at centre-back, and I'm not overly keen on him at left-back either, while Kieran Gibbs often found himself out of position, but on the whole, it was a very promising performance, and a great opportunity to see most of the squad ahead of the new season.

Day two of the Emirates Cup is played today with Arsenal playing AS Monaco at 4.20pm (GMT), after the conclusion of Benfica v Valencia.

Emirates Stadium

Both Nicklas Bendtner and Bacary Sagna potentially to leave Arsenal in the summer

For consecutive years we had lost our top players in the summer (notably Vieira, Henry, Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Van Persie) but last year was different in the fact we held on to our best players and added a couple of extra faces too in Sanogo (who shows promise), Flamini and Ozil.

The rumours have already started though as to a couple of players particularly who may be on their way out of the Emirates this summer. For me I wouldn't be disappointed if both of them left the club, and they are Nicklas Bendtner and Bacary Sagna.

I'll start with the Dane by picking up on last week's reports that Bendtner travelled to Copenhagen without informing Arsene Wenger.

And he appears to have had the last straw with the Danish striker, who recently started for his country against England in an international friendly. In relation to his comments in the media, all the gaffer has done is reinstate that the striker's contract is up in the summer but that says it all and I think he's had enough of him, as have the fans.

This in turn though means we will be even more desperate for a recognised striker. We simply haven't been scoring enough goals, especially from our main strikers, and this summer we need to start actually doing more to bring in big names to get us those goals. Giroud may get a few but he is inconsistent and slow. Walcott is again inconsistent, he can't always finish, and Podolski is always preferred out on the wing but we know what he can do when he sight of the goal.

Nicky B back in the days before the excessive hair.

Sagna is rumoured to be off too as his latest reported wage demands are higher than what the board are willing to pay out. I'd be happy to see a replacement for Sagna, not that he's the worst player in the world at all, but we need someone fresher and younger (maybe someone who can cross a ball a bit better, and look more natural on the ball; I don't think his fair share of leg injuries have helped though). Carl Jenkinson can be a fairly good back-up but he's no way ready to be starting choice in my defence I'm afraid.

So who would be good enough to fill the void left by the French right-back who has interest shown in him by Inter Milan and Galatasary?

Nathaniel Clyne of Southampton is one potential target (he was certainly one of mine on FIFA...not that that means anything!) The 22-year-old has become an established member of the Saints' defence and he has bags of pace and good awareness.

Borussia Dortmund's Lukasz Piszczek is another rumoured target and I can see Wenger going for the Polish defender who would sit in front of either his Polish internationals of Fabianski or Szczesny. We've also been linked with him in the past so he should certainly be a name us fans keep an ear out for.

Following our knock-out of the UEFA Champions League last week we now give complete attention to the Premier League and FA Cup. Our narrow 1-0 victory over Spurs yesterday (thanks to Rocicky's wonderful early strike and some good defending) keeps us up with the top four. Thank goodness we don't have to play Liverpool again this season who look likely to storm through the final stretch. Our title chances are looking slimmer, however we aren't 100% out of it, while we have a great opportunity to go all the way in the FA Cup and lift a trophy for the first time in nine seasons.

Sagna signed for the club from Auxerre back in 2007.

Stoke 1-0 Arsenal: Reaction to this afternoon's Premier League result

On my way back from work I was constantly refreshing my phone to get this afternoon's live Premier League score updates, more importantly hoping to see us bag a goal or two at Stoke.

It was nervy seeing the words 'Penalty to Stoke' and a little heart wrenching seeing 'Stoke Goal: Walters 76' (pen)' a minute later. Of course we were unable to muster an equaliser or even a shot on target in the second half.

I haven't seen the game and so look forward (sort of) to seeing the highlights on Match of the Day tonight. But I flicked on BBC Radio 5 Live's Sports Report to hear we "did not look like title contenders", while Alan Hansen called it a "lethargic performance".

Reports give me the impression we were sloppy, lacking in creativity, and allowed Stoke every opportunity to get stuck in. Stoke City are a side who you know what to expect with players like Charlie Adam and Ryan Shawcross who love to get stuck in.

Flamini was benched today but for me he is a certain starter while Arteta and Wilshere sat in the holding midfield roles. I have argued before that Podolski needs playing up front but he was again out on the left and later subbed for Yaya Sanogo. The young French forward might have potential but he is not who you bring on when you desperately need a goal at the Britannia. Having said that, Giroud hadn't found the back of the net and Bendtner is our only other 'safest' option up front. This could well be something which contributes to a potentially disappointing end to the season.

I'm hearing Charlie Adam should have received his marching orders for standing on Giroud but a losing side will always look for excuses. I guess we will have to see it on Match of the Day for those who haven't seen today's match, but we didn't play this week and should have been all up for this one. I would be furious if I were Wenger!

We're not out of the title race but every defeat now puts a damper on our title chasing chances. When you consider Chelsea played in the week in the UEFA Champions League, they had won today's game against Fulham in a fifteen minute brace; something we couldn't do, or even look like doing apparently.

It really is frustrating news seeing the result as we lose ground on the title race. Liverpool have a chance to overtake us if they win at Southampton which is under way being this afternoon's late kick off (Suarez has put them 1-0 up as I write this), while Manchester City, who are two points behind us in third, have two games in hand.

Oldie: Stoke v Arsenal in the 2009-10 season.