UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Group HArsenal 6 Braga 0: IT IS a compliment to Arsenal that they wrecked any prospect of drama as they opened their Champions League campaign with a rout of Braga.
The visitors cannot have been pitted against anyone in qualifiers with the skill and imagination of Cesc Fabregas, who set up the substitute Carlos Vela for his second goal, and the team’s sixth, in the 84th minute.
Braga would have been filled with a far greater sense of occasion. The Portuguese side can only be giddy with the transformation that has taken place since Domingos Paciencia, who was once Bobby Robson’s centre forward at Porto, became their manager. Last season they had their highest league finish, with only Benfica ahead of them.
The club used their country’s traditional method of bolstering a squad by signing a host of Brazilians. For all their technique, however, they have not been especially resilient. They reached the Champions League group stage by beating Sevilla twice but Arsenal’s examination of that tie will most likely have dwelt on the three goals they conceded away.
Arsene Wenger’s men would have attacked with verve in any case, but there was also much encouragement to do so.
The visitors could not contain Fabregas and he might have had a penalty when Paulo Cesar connected with him on the edge of the area after four minutes. If there was no great indignation, it may have been because goals were certain.
A 3-0 lead had been established when the interval was still 10 minutes away. Fabregas sent Marouane Chamakh through in the ninth minute. The striker was brought down by the goalkeeper, Felipe, and Fabregas slotted home the penalty.
Having put his team ahead, the captain revelled all the more in the liberty Braga allowed him. He eluded two opponents and set up Andrey Arshavin to score the second goal after half an hour.
There were flickers from Braga. With 23 minutes gone, for instance, Alan shook off Fabregas as he raced down the right, but the midfielder’s low ball did not find anyone in the goalmouth. There might have been some unease about the composition of Arsenal’s central defence, since it lacked the injured Thomas Vermaelen.
In practice, this was not a gruelling examination of Sebastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny, two of the summer arrivals.
The opposition as much as the spectators were mesmerised by the interweaving passes of Arsenal. After 34 minutes, Chamakh fired home after combining with Jack Wilshere. Indignant though Wenger would be at the suggestion, this was recreational football from men enjoying their rapport with each other. Saturday’s match at Sunderland will bear no resemblance to this game, but Wenger’s men will go to the Stadium of Light with confidence.
This does seem to be a maturing squad and even if they did not look impregnable, Arsenal denied the Braga the scope they had found in the qualifiers. It may be we are seeing more efficiency in Wenger’s developing team. For the Emirates Stadium audience, it will have been enough simply to appreciate the smooth football set before them.
The greatest obstacle to teams in this kind of form often turns out to be the half-time interval, but Arsenal surmounted it with ease. In the 53rd minute Fabregas was at the far post to head in a chipped cross from Arshavin. By then, Wenger’s men were barely conscious of their opponents.
Pacienca might have taken off just about anyone but he opted first for the former Newcastle United player Hugo Viana. Fabregas could have completed his hat-trick by then but after going through he attempted a chipped finish that Felipe half-stopped before a defender hacked the ball away.
Relief for the side being outclassed often comes through substitutions. Braga would have been particularly relieved when Chamakh made way for Vela. With Robin van Persie injured, Wenger badly needs the Moroccan to stay in prime condition. There was, all the same, a limit to the satisfaction the visitors took in his removal. They had to wait a while for Arshavin to leave the game. Having struck a post in the 67th minute, the Russian unleashed Vela two minutes later and the substitute clipped the ball over the sprawling Felipe.
Occasions of this sort illustrate the richness of technique and imagination available to Arsenal. A different sort of game will be needed to establish whether durability is also present, but nobody can deny the supporters’ right to their mood of excitement and anticipation.
Guardian Service
ARSENAL: Almunia, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Nasri, Song (Denilson 63), Fabregas, Wilshere, Arshavin (Eboue 69), Chamakh (Vela 63). Subs not used: Fabianski, Rosicky, Djourou, Gibbs. Booked: Sagna.
BRAGA: Felipe, Miguel Garcia, Moises, Rodriguez, Silvio, Vandinho, Aguiar, Hugo Viana (Mossoro 54), Alan, Matheus (Lima 59), Paulo Cesar (Helder Barbosa 69). Subs not used: Artur Moraes, Paulao, Madrid, Elton. Booked: Felipe, Rodriguez.
Referee: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg).
Attendance: 59,333
Next up
Tuesday, September 28th
Braga v Shakhtar Donetsk
Partizan Belgrade v Arsenal
