Arsenal win Emirates Cup trophy

LONDON (AP):

Arsenal won the preseason Emirates Cup for a second straight year yesterday, beating Celtic 3-2 with goals from Carlos Vela, Bacary Sagna and Samir Nasri.

Vela scored in the third minute when Theo Walcott passed the ball into the six-yard box and the Mexico international slid in to tap past Celtic goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska.

Sagna scored with less than a minute to go before half-time with a left-foot volley after a casual pass from Tomas Rosicky found him on the edge of the area.

Nasri scored in the 51st from close range after Walcott set him up inside the area.

"I'm pleased with the two days" of the tournament, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We had good opponents, teams that didn't give up."

New players

Wenger praised the team's two new players, striker Marouane Chamakh and centre back Laurent Koscielny. He also said he is searching for one or two more players.

Celtic, quiet for most of the match, staged a late rally by pulling a goal back in the 73rd when Daryl Murphy slotted the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. Ki Sung-Yueng put Celtic within a goal of Arsenal in the 82nd, scoring from close range off a low cross from the right.

Celtic was also awarded a penalty in the 68th after Jack Wilshere pulled down Marc-Antoine Fortune, but Georgios Samaras fired the ball well wide of goal.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon was pleased at his team's late comeback, but expressed disappointed with his players' efforts in defending set pieces.

"The manner of the second goal and the timing was poor," he said. "I don't know if it's a football issue or a team mentality issue.

In the early match, Lyon's Jimmy Briand scored a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw against AC Milan.

Lyon, Champions League semi-finalists last season, dominated the game but failed to take its chances. The French side fell behind when Milan's Marco Borriello opened the scoring in the 55th.

Briand equalised when he converted a cross from Miralem Pjanic with 10 minutes remaining.