As Arsenal kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a stunning 6-0 victory against Braga, Cesc Fabregas delivered an outstanding performance as captain.
The midfielder from Spain, whose transfer to Barcelona was blocked over the summer, netted two goals during the match.
Russia’s Andrey Arshavin, Morocco’s Marouane Chamakh, and substitute Carlos Vela from Mexico each added a brace as Arsene Wenger’s squad surged to the top of Group H.
Prior to the match, Wenger expressed his criticism regarding the situation that sidelined Abou Diaby, the French midfielder, from participating.
Diaby sustained an injury during the 4-1 Barclays Premier League win against Bolton Wanderers over the weekend, following a challenge that Wenger felt warranted retrospective punishment through video evidence, contingent on a change in Premier League regulations.
In Diaby’s place in the starting eleven, France international Samir Nasri made his return following knee surgery.
In the opening moments, Arsenal could have been awarded a penalty after Paulo Cesar’s clumsy tackle inside the box sent Fabregas tumbling.
However, the referee Alain Hamer from Luxembourg deemed the incident accidental and also signaled for play to proceed when defender Moises tackled Fabregas during Arsenal’s next attack.
Nevertheless, when Chamakh was taken down by goalkeeper Felipe while pursuing a through ball from Fabregas, the referee promptly awarded a penalty.
Fabregas successfully converted it, giving Arsenal a lead just nine minutes into the match.
Paulo Cesar forced Arsenal’s goalkeeper Manuel Almunia into a save following a deflected shot before the second goal was scored in the 30th minute.
Fabregas skillfully dribbled past an opponent and delivered an accurate pass to Arshavin on the left side of the box, allowing the Russian to slot the ball past Felipe at his near post.
Four minutes later, Chamakh added another goal by chesting down Arshavin’s chip, combining with Jack Wilshere whose cheeky back-heel return pass set him up perfectly to score past the helpless Felipe.
Eight minutes into the second half, Fabregas headed in the fourth goal after Braga’s defense hesitated in clearing the ball.
Arshavin provided a cross to the back post for Fabregas to nod in.
Moises and Felipe teamed up to thwart Fabregas from securing his hat-trick, as the midfielder raced through, only for the goalkeeper to deflect his shot and the defender to dramatically clear the danger before it could cross the line.
Braga introduced forward Lima, who previously scored a hat-trick against Sevilla in the qualifiers, but the match outcome had already been settled. Wenger took the opportunity to substitute Chamakh and Alex Song, giving Carlos Vela and Denilson a chance to play in the final 25 minutes.
Vela netted Arsenal’s fifth after Fabregas assisted Arshavin, whose shot bounced back off the post. The Mexican received a clever pass from Arshavin and deftly flicked the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper.
His second goal came courtesy of Fabregas, who controlled a lovely pass from Wilshere before rolling the ball past Felipe, catching the goalkeeper off guard at his near post.
In the other Group H match, it was a tighter contest as Shakhtar Donetsk’s captain Dario Srna scored a second-half free kick that led the Ukrainian champions to a 1-0 victory against Partizan Belgrade.
Buford Balony says: I had a feeling Arsenal would triumph, and I even predicted a 6-0 victory for the Gunners! If you doubt me, just ask my esteemed colleague Sel Hurst!