Hugs! Pic via Daily Telegraph.
Arsenal 6: Fabregas 9 (pen), 53, Arshavin 30, Chamakh 34, Vela 69, 84
Sporting Braga 0
SC Braga thrashed Celtic then stunned Sevilla to get this far in Europe, then the team known as "The Arsenalists" because they took influence from Arsenal in choosing their kit colors got a dream drawing against their inspiration for their first match. It was a night Braga would probably now like to forget.
Arsenal benefited from both Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Vela doubles, while Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh added two more to contribute to the Gunners' 6-0 win over Braga in London on Wednesday night. It was Arsenal's largest win in Europe since a seven goal thrashing of Slavia Prague nearly three years ago.
Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that beat Bolton at the weekend, though none of them were necessitated by injury (recall, Diaby did not start Saturday.) Samir Nasri returned from his knee injury to start, replacing Tomas Rosicky on the right wing, while Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy returned to their usual places on the back line after being rested four days ago.
Arsenal were knocking on the door of Braga's goal from the start and had two minor shouts for a penalty to be given before a third shout finally warranted a point to the spot from the referee in the eighth minute, when Marouane Chamakh was tripped by Braga's goalkeeper Felipe (side note, what the hell goalkeeper wears a squad number like 84?) Felipe guessed right on Fabregas's penalty but could not stop the shot and Arsenal led 1-0 nine minutes into the first Champions League match of the group stage.
Another side note: remember where the first Champions League match of the group stage was nine minutes in last year? Arsenal had already been losing 2-0 for four minutes. Oh yeah, then they came back and won.
Most of the match continued in the same vein from this point forward: Arsenal played their pure class tippy-tappy style that we all know and love and Braga at times appeared mesmerized, then decided they should try to counterattack, only to be out-muscled off the ball by a defender or roll a shot weakly to Manuel Almunia.
Andrei Arshavin was put through one-on-one in the 30th minute and did not miss tonight, like he did eighty bajillion times against Bolton on Saturday. Four minutes later, a magnificent goal from Chamakh; a beautiful flick from Jack Wilshere sent the Moroccan through, then a tap shot through the legs of the defender and past the helpless Felipe into the far corner. Suddenly, it was 3-0, and the Gunners were coasting to halftime.
Fabregas picked up his brace as Arsenal picked up their fourth goal in the 53rd after coasting through some effortless defending, passing the ball left to Arshavin, who delivered the cross directly to the wide open Spaniard's head.
Then, the Carlos Vela show: two minutes after Arshavin pounded a shot off the left goalpost, he slipped a through ball to Vela who waited for Felipe to dive low before chipping his shot high and into the net for Arsenal's fifth. Vela would pick up the brace after Fabregas decided not to go through on goal for a hat trick of his own. Again, Vela waited for Felipe to commit, then calmly slotted the ball in the other direction. Carlos Vela has now scored three goals in the last two games; he has been on the pitch for a combined 43 minutes in those two games.
What did we learn today? The most important part to take away from the win is probably that the back four held it together against a team that was billed to be good on the counter, but there were enough nervy moments to make you wonder how this team will actually handle the bigger guns in England and in Europe. Well, that's what all the pundits will be talking about anyway. For us Gooners, let's just enjoy a big win, especially when it comes one day after Spurs blew a 2-0 lead to draw.
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