Pascal Cygan did not spend his childhood in France dreaming of playing at Stevenage. But in unglamorous surrounds last night the central defender's Arsenal career got off to a comfortable enough start.

The 28-year-old hardly had a sparkling debut after his �2.1m move from Lille but he eased himself into his new job with a sprinkling of uneasy moments before departing in the 72nd minute with Arsenal halfway to their 6-1 win.

At least there will be a solid, experience figure behind him as he comes to terms with English football: David Seaman yesterday signed a one-year extension to his contract.

This largely pedestrian match was, anyway, perfect for settling down. A few strong challenges and interceptions hinted at Cygan's talent, and he looked comfortable with his distribution. There were unconvincing elements, with Stevenage hitting the post early on after his error, and at 6ft 3in he did not look as powerful in the air as might be expected.

Yet he seems confident and displayed his versatility by playing for almost a quarter of an hour at left-back. Cygan is Ars�ne Wenger's only summer signing to date, though it would be no surprise if Mark van Bommel joins over the next month. The manager had positive news from a one of his existing midfielders yesterday when Robert Pires said his rehabilitation from a serious knee problem was going well and he hoped to return at the end of September.

Arsenal ultimately galloped to an easy victory, with three Brazilians - Juan, Edu and Paulinho - among their scorers. What Seaman, Campbell, Ashley Cole and Keown would have made of more Brazilian joy remains a mystery because all were absent, along with the rest of the Gunners' World Cup players.

That meant there were a few less familiar names in Wenger's starting line-up, though the presence of Dennis Bergkamp, Ray Parlour, Edu and others meant this was not solely a reserve team to begin with.

The inclusion of Cygan also ensured there was an added interest in this testimonial for Stevenage's former manager Paul Fairclough, who was in charge for the club's famous FA Cup meetings against Newcastle.

Stevenage, fielding an all-star team from Fairclough's time here, put up a good fight in the first half and equalised Juan's 20-yard shot when Robin Trott headed in a poorly defended corner.

A raft of second-half changes saw Wenger introduce many younger players, several of whom he is keen to assess as he seeks to integrate more youth into the first team. A fine run and strike by Edu put Arsenal ahead before Liam Chilvers, Jermaine Brown, Paulinho and Graham Barrett completed the scoring.

Stevenage Borough (4-4-2): Willmott; Saunders, Goodliffe, Trott, Mutchell; Venables, Forbes (Radcliffe, 42), Berry, Trebble; Alford, Crawshaw.

Arsenal (4-4-2): Wright (Taylor, h-t); Luzhny (Halls, h-t), Stepanovs (Tavlaridis, h-t), Cygan (Chorley, 72), Upson (Sidwell, h-t); Parlour (Paulinho, 72), Svard (Bentley, h-t), Edu (Chilvers, 60), Juan; Aliadi�re (Brown, 60), Bergkamp (Barrett, h-t).

Referee: P Taylor.