Arsenal beat Porto in last night's Champions League Group G match at the Emirates stadium 4-0.
Despite an impressive start by the visitors, who looked compact in defensive and dangerous on the break, Arsenal built on a undeserved 2-0 half-time lead to dominate the second half.
Arsenal made footballing brilliance look so easy after the interval that many spectators had long since forgotten that it was the men in blue shirts - not red - that looked more likely to open the scoring.
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Porto attacked with precision and gusto and hit the bar as Arsenal's players struggled to find any rhythm against opponents that showed the same fearless approach that Hull were so richly rewarded for at the weekend.
What Porto did not show, however, was Hull's defensive sureness, determination and work ethic. As Arsenal started to pass the ball and create space in front of the Porto defence and down the flanks, the Portuguese team's soft belly was exposed time and again.
During the second and third quarters of the game, Arsenal might as well have been playing Tottenham, such was the anonymity of the away side.
Walcott was wonderful on the wing, Fabregas dictated his team's tempo expertly and the introduction of substitutes Bendtner and Vela created even more chaos for Porto. That's not even to mention either goalscorer.
Arsene Wenger smiled and joked on the touchline, Porto's coaching staff, forlorn, could only frown.
Although Liverpool are favourites to win the competition this year, a young Arsenal side proved many sceptics wrong. There really is no substitute for quality and a perceived lack of experience in this side may yet prove to be a positive factor in this year's quest for silverware.
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2 months ago
it was a very convincing win, miles way from the way they performed against hull!
2 months ago
Yes. They were excellent in the second half but Porto gave as good as they got until the break, which was refreshing.
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