Wenger rich in reserves

The Arsenal manager told chairman Peter Hill-Wood that he would hand the money back if he had been given £100m to spend in the summer. Supporters found out why last night.

They had to wait until the 83rd minute for the goal that broke Newcastle's resistance, but this was another mouth-watering performance from Arsenal's second string.

Wenger's colts reached the Carling Cup final last season before they were eventually beaten by the experience of Chelsea, but another generation of stars are already showing remarkable signs of maturity.

Nicklas Bendtner and Denilson scored their first goals for the senior team, but confidence is flooding through this club from top to bottom.

At the heart of it, Lassana Diarra, signed from Chelsea for £2m on transfer deadline day, pulled the strings with a performance that purred from start to finish.

Wenger said: 'We have wave after wave of players coming through, but I am always cautious about football. It is the beginning of the season but the big strength in my squad is the togetherness and camaraderie.

'We knew we could dominate Newcastle but they had a strong team out and they did well. It was a good test for the players. Diarra is ready to play at this level and we got him for £2m — a lot less than was announced. Bendtner has been waiting for his chance as well, but this is a club with only four strikers, not 20.'

Arsenal had their scares, especially whenever the ball was within striking distance of Philippe Senderos, but they finally broke Newcastle's resistance seven minutes from time.

The Gunners had already rattled Sam Allardyce's side with efforts from Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Eboue and Eduardo before they finally got their reward.

Shay Given, who has not played for Newcastle in the Premier League this season, was outstanding in goal, but there was nothing he could do about Bendtner's header.

That goal, expertly taken from Armand Traore's cross, was his first for the club, but there promise to be plenty more.

Bendtner, who scored 13 goals for Birmingham on their way to winning promotion last season, has been itching for his chance in the Arsenal side and he certainly took it last night.

Polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski, making his first start for Arsenal, denied the lively Obafemi Martins at one end, but Newcastle had no answer at the other.

They were on their knees when Bendtner scored and it was game over when Denilson added the second with a delicious strike from outside the area a minute from time.

Substitute Abou Diaby laid the ball into the Brazilian's path for him to drive home.

Allardyce said: 'We are disappointed that we were made to play the game because we only played on Sunday. We got fatigue and couldn't run in the end. As good as Arsenal were, we ran out of legs and they finally capitalised on that.

'On another night, Obafemi Martins could be sitting on the bus with a signed ball for his hattrick. He had three chances and we are bitterly disappointed.'

Senderos was at fault in the first half when he allowed Martins twice to get the better of him, but Arsenal's stand-in skipper redeemed himself with a brilliant goal-line clearance just after they had taken the lead.

Despite this result, Wenger is not getting carried away. Although the boardroom has been crowing about Arsenal's healthy financial situation, Wenger obliged with a heavy dose of realism.

'I am not worried about the figures because they can be juggled,' added Wenger. 'We have improved turnover, but if you analyse them you will realise that we only have an operating profit of £5.6m before tax.'

That prompted speculation that someone no longer employed at the Emirates has been scrutinising the accounts, but not even David Dein could dispute the figures on the pitch.