PICTURES

WEBMASTER'S COMMENT

"The only think Utd fans can take from this game is the return of Roy Keane after his injury last season. Keane played 75 minutes from the start before being taken off from what was to be a match to forget about. Only one team was playing today."

MATCH REPORT

By Mark Bradley, PA Sport Chief Soccer Writer

The chorus of boos that resounded around Wembley every time the Manchester United number seven touched the ball could only have meant one thing - David Beckham was back in action on British soil for the first time since his World Cup sending-off. And Beckham's misery, amid the almost inevitable abuse that was heaped upon him, was completed as Double winners Arsenal coasted to a 3-0 win over last season's runners-up in the Charity Shield.

Dutchman Marc Overmars opened the scoring, just as he did on Arsenal's last appearance at Wembley in the FA Cup final, and strikes by Nicolas Anelka and Christopher Wreh ensured any pre-season psychological boost rested in North London. But however rich the match was with cameo roles - the debut of United's record signing Jaap Stam, the return from injury as captain by Roy Keane and the appearances of World Cup winners Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira - the spotlight was trained on Beckham.

He remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes amid a rash of substitutions that seemed to prove that United were more worried by Wednesday's opening Champions' Cup game against Polish side LKS Lodz. But a free-kick just over the bar was the midfielder's only real contribution of note to the match.

United's fans did their best to lift his spirits, but the Arsenal end delighted in jeering any mistake that the midfielder made and some even brandished red cards to ensure his petulant World Cup dismissal could not yet be consigned to the history books. Yet it is the way Beckham responds to the abuse that will inevitably follow him around the country this season which will show the strength of his young character and go some way to establishing whether his future lies at home or abroad.

At least United manager Alex Ferguson felt that the midfielder needed no protection as he included him from the start at Wembley, despite earlier indications that he may rest several of his key players with Europe in mind.

Nonetheless, both sides showed in a fiercely contested yet below-par opening half that they still had to rediscover their fluency after the late return of their World Cup contingents if they were to confirm their status as European Super League wannabees.

Keane, who last played against Leeds in September before the knee injury which curtailed his season, made his presence felt early on as he fouled Vieira, while five names went into referee Graham Poll's book during the match. At the heart of United's back four, £10.75million record signing Stam looked comfortable in defence until he was easily pushed off the ball for Anelka's goal but somewhat less assured in distribution.

Up front, only Scholes posed their only real threat as Andy Cole failed to provide any consolation for the club's failure to sign Patrick Kluivert and Dwight Yorke. Instead it was Arsenal, playing at the stadium which will host their home Champions' League matches this season, who dominated in midfield through their French duo as they became the first southern team to win the Shield outright since 1962.

Yet they needed the inspiration of Dennis Bergkamp to open up the United defence in the 35th minute as he and Overmars gave a taste of what Holland had so glaringly missed in their World Cup semi-final defeat by Brazil. The striker's delicate back-flick from the edge of the area harried Ronny Johnsen into a rushed clearance which rebounded off the leg of Anelka and straight to Overmars, who made no mistake with his curling shot from 15 yards out.

Bergkamp almost put Anelka through shortly afterwards, only for Peter Schmeichel to rush out to gather, and was substituted at the break by Wreh. Yet if the United defence thought they could rest easy with Bergkamp off the pitch, they were wrong.

On 56 minutes, Overmars fed Anelka on the break and the young French striker intelligently found Wreh in an embarrassing amount of space in front of the United goal. His first shot was saved by Schmeichel's legs but the ball merely rebounded to him and the striker made no mistake with his second attempt, threading his shot through the hastily regrouping United defenders.

United battled in vain to get back into the match and the Gunners actually increased their lead with 18 minutes left as the mistakes which plagued Stam's World Cup performances returned to haunt him. Although he looked to have Anelka well covered as the young Frenchman raced onto Ray Parlour's through-ball, a determined nudge that Romania's Dan Petrescu would have been proud of was enough to see off the Dutchman and the striker powered his shot home.

Late on, substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw a shot blocked, while former Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham was soundly jeered by the Arsenal fans when he shot well wide after racing clear. At least he knew how Beckham might have felt.

POST MATCH REACTIONS

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson didn't read too much into his side's 3-0 Charity Shield defeat at the hands of Arsenal.

Although he did admit it was a "really bad scoreline" and conceded that "Arsenal were the better team." But like Arsene Wenger, he knows he needs to strengthen his squad.

He said: "I'm happy with the quality. But when you've got as hard a season as we have ahead of us then you're going to need a strong squad."

The major plus point for Ferguson was that Republic of Ireland international and midfield inspiration Roy Keane came through his first serious pre-season test, lasting 75 minutes before coming off.

He added: "I thought Roy needed a game. You can play as many games as you like in terms of the three matches we had in Scandinavia, but it doesn't really tell you a lot. But what Roy needed was a real game. He got that and he will benefit from it."

Wenger took a little more from the victory, believing that it gives his side a vital psychological edge going into the new season.

He said: "It was important because you never know where you stand before the championship starts and it was important psychologically.

And Wenger confirmed he is looking for another striker, despite the margin of victory over a team expected to be their main challengers again for the title.

"I'm not going to name names, but we need a striker because we are short in numbers if something happens to Nicolas or Dennis," confirmed Wenger. "We also have so many games to play, but who we are going for I can't tell you because I don't know 100% myself at the moment."

TEAMS

Manchester United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Stam, Johnsen, Irwin, Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Giggs, Scholes, Cole.
Subs: Solskjaer for Butt, Cruyff for Giggs, P Neville for Scholes, Sheringham for Scholes, Berg for Keane.

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Winterburn, Parlour, Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Anelka.
Subs: Wreh for Bergkamp, Bould for Adams, Hughes for Overmars, Boa Morte for Petit, Grimandi for Vieira.
Scorers: Overmars (32), Wreh (56), Anelka (72).

Referee: G Poll