Match Report: Arsenal 5-0 FC Porto
Arsenal are through to the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League following a convincing display that earned them a 5-0 triumph over FC Porto, winning 6-2 on aggregate.
Arsene Wenger’s side knew that one goal could be enough to advance to the quarter finals, and the Londoners attacked right from kick-off, putting great pressure on their opponents.
Almunia
Sagna – Campbell – Vermaelen – Clichy
Diaby – Song – Rosicky
Nasri – Bendtner – Arshavin
Subs: Fabianski, Silvestre, Traore, Eboue, Denilson, Walcott, Eduardo.
The reward came after just ten minutes. A trough ball from Samir Nasri could not be properly cleared by the defense, and the ball ended up in front of Nicklas Bendtner who blasted home for 1-0.
After the opening goal, the match was slightly more balanced with Porto spending more half on the opposing half.
But the Premiership side got their second in the 25th minute as Andrey Arshavin found his way past several defenders and delivered a short pass from the left of the area, with Bendtner waiting to tap in.
Arshavin could have added a third nine minutes later as the Russian had an open goal to score in, but sent the ball over the crossbar instead.
And just when Porto began to create more chances near Arsenal’s goal, it was the home side to make it 3-0 in the 63rd minute. Samir Nasri beat three defenders before his strike from a virtually impossible angle went in from the far post.
Five minutes later, the Gunners even made it 4-0 as Emmanuel Eboue rounded the keeper following a pass from Arshavin.
In the dying minutes, Arsenal netted another after Fucile fouled Eboue in the penalty area and Bendtner completed his hat-trick from the spot.
Man of the Match – Samir Nasri – Amazing performance from the French midfield maestro. Filled the role of Fabregas brilliantly.
Arsenal 5-0, wining 6-2 aggreagte. Get your facts right. In any case, a super night.
name one team that can put out a performance like that when it’s deprived of 3-4 of its key players!!
TV was absolutely solid at the back along with sol
goal of the season by nasri
now bring anyone on in the qfs..we’re doing a double!!
If I was to choose MoTM it would be a close one to call. Arshavin provided the 1st 2nd and 4th goals. Bendtner scored the 1st 2nd and 5th goals. Who made the difference tonight?
I think NB52 and AA23 both made the difference but I’d be inclined to give it to Bendtner for his hat-trick.
Emphatic. Fantastic, professional performance by the boys
GO ARSENAL ALL THE WAY……………. ONE OF THE BEST DAY FOR ARSENAL FOR US……….
It was 5 – 0 actually 😛 – can u believe Souness’s comments after the game on Sky? Whether we win 2 – 1 or 3 – 1 he always says wait till we meet a team who play better…well im still waiting. I thought we played fantastic and apart from the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half we dominated. At least our players were there to throw their bodies in on the line to stop Porto scoring a goal. As for Nikki Bendtner…he is frickin a beast, F*** The Hulk. Nikki won every ball, laid it off well and took his goals very well. I hope anyone still not believing in him, this will make them stop and look at him again. I thought the whole team played extremely well and even i who still worry about whether we are strong enough to see this season through to the end can say to myself, you know what…YES WE CAN!! The double is on BIG TIME!
Great performance, wouldn’t mind watching it again. Anyone know where to watch extended highlights?
MOTM- NASRI
Arshavin, Rosicky, TV, Bendy…all stepped up when it wz needed
class result from the gunners,they deserved it and some of there play was majic,
Get in!!!!! avoid injuries and there is one trophy at least in this squad. The danger for other teams is we are now not only confident but together! Hull is a huge game. we need to keep the ball rolling. Hats off to Naz…outstanding.. it was as if cesc was playing.. at last he is fulfilling the potential he has always had. To Nik.. i wasnt worried after the bunley game.. hes a confident lad so it wouldnt affect him and it was a freak game. COME ON BOYS!”!!!!
brilliant performance! never thought it would be 5-0 anyway. proud to be a gooner! arsenal u made my day!
worst hatrick ever bender stil yite, nasri is immense….. we shud count r selfs lucky 2 only have played porto anybody halfdecent wud hav scored due to da shaky defence
I think it is important to keep things grounded atm. We haven’t won anything yet and I think it is premature to shout about winning a double now.
One thing we are worth being excited about is that this win will bring a lot of confidence into the team. A big win in Europe brings a lot of confidence into the football we play and we need to stay on course, concentrate on simply winning our PL games and keep the momentum going.
I’m very convinced that people like Graeme Souness came on the TV tonight to watch Arsenal get turfed out of the CL. A lot of people who speak on TV do not Arsenal very much and it is quite obvious. 5-0 shoved down their throats is just what the doctor ordered!
eboue was dung wen hr came on showed da class between him and sagna , clichy also impressed
i wudn say arsenal plyd great 2 be honest i was always scared wen a cross came n nasri clearence sepecially
great night, well done arsenal, yes this will give us great confidence,
we taught them (porto) a lession tonight, “don’t come back to the grove” unless you want another hiding!
Agree Daymee!
Had to turn down the volume when Souness was talking,unbelievable!
Also saw your comments on UK FOOTBALL FINDER,STILL can’t stop laughing.
What a performance. When all the members do what they do, then we become efficnet. Its not that Chelsea is better than us, most are past their best, but they try to do what they should. THe thing with arsenal is that when there is no fabregas to depend on, every one does their best. Check the stats without fabregas.
*** Anybody thought that referee was generous towards us arsenal?
Shaky defence? Do people really expect us not to concede a single chance in the whole match. Did you see Wolves play the supposed best defence in the world this weekend? They conceded plenty of chances. I do admit we have two frailties there though. First it’s Almunia and his communication with the back four and then it’s Clichy and his terrible form (almost made a great assist for Hulk).
But what a game. Nasri, Arshavin, Bendtner and Vermaelen were just world class, absolutely. We missed our two best players and Gallas as well (Gibbs also) and we still slaughtered them. I would like to see United do that without Rooney, Fletcher and Ferdinand. Bring on the QF, we are ready for anything.
just couple of Days ago almost everyone could nail Nikki Bentner, I was angry too but I still spoke out on the belief I have in him. We had a great game today one of the best through the season. Over joyous I am. We all hope and pray for better days. Nass got the best goal of his career so far. Nikki.B established himself professionally. All went well. All praise to GOD. We can do the double indeed.
My performance of the Match goes to…Arsene Wenger…What a fantastic dance step he did after our third goal…even bettered his performance Vs Villareal last year!!!!
RE: Daymee – Look mate we are still in the mix. We cant ask for anything more atm. One game at a time as the cliche goes…but we are answering the questions posed at us…i mean the players are answering the questions posed by the media and dare i say some of our Gooners. They cant do anymore than what they are doing right now so give some credit and stop leaving space for you and all the rest of the uttally shameless Gooner “supporters” that doubt our credentiels to winning something this season…you know who i mean…there is nothing wrong in shouting out loud we will win the double this season but come up short…you dont get a prize for saying you told us so. Id rather sing our praises and stand behind the team and kick every ball and score every goal and dare i say fail to stop a goal going in against us in my mind to make me feel part of my Arsenal that i stood by for the last 30 years. THE FRICKIN DOUBLE IS ON – START BELIEVING COZ WHEN IT HAPPENS THIS SEASON YOU CAN STAND TALL AS THE PLAYERS WHO TOOK YOU HEAVEN!! I WILL NEVER STOP BELIEVING…EVER!
Was it me alone that thought the ref made it easy for us?
AMAZING GAME.
for me nasri WAS man of the match,followed by…..rosicky,diaby & vermaelen.
bendtner wasnt the best player on the pitch but he’s hold up play,flick ons were the reason i see improvement.forget the goals he scored cos 1 was a penalty & 2 were tap ins.
alumina.6
sagna.7.5
campbell.5.75
vermaelen.8
clichy.7.5
song.7.75
nasri.8.5
rosicky.8
diaby.8
arshavin.7.5
bendtner.8.25
subs:
eboue.7.5.
denilson.6
walcott.6.5
GREAT GAME & WITHOUT WORLD CLASS PLAYERS IN GALLAS,VAN PERSIE & FABREGAS(C)
my only worry 2nite is campbell & the fact that gallas & johan d are 4-6 weeks away=(
i never missed fabregas 2nite which a good thing,also proves that we do have the players in the middle with even denilson(hope never happens) as cover.
next is hull 5.30 kick off
hmmmmmmmmm maybe nasri is special after all=))))))))))
Y u guys worryin bout Souness
Dat idiot will never amount to anyting n his career, destined to b remembered as a CONSUMATE LOSER.
But anyway good game ,need to work on our defence still. Big up to Nikki B. despite a lotta fickle fans got bunches of faith n him
hope this is start of things to come
OMG – i cant believe us “Gooners” are making excuses as to why we won tonight. Now its the ref…FFS…cant anyone just say we played fantastic and gave Porto not a chance (apart from the 10-15 minutes of the 2nd half) and even then our attacking players were on the goal line to stop them? Or maybe we had a ref that respected us and the way we play instead of wanting to get headlines by dishing out cards against us. I will say though since our beloved Rambo got his leg snapped in half i feel the ref in the Burnley game protected us in ways we havent seen. Noted we didnt get a booking but tell me im wrong but didnt 7 of their players get yellows? I thought the ref tonight was spot on, i will admit he gave Verminater a weak yellow though.
nasri’s goal was pure briliance!!!!!! go gooners, aim for both titles!!!!!!!!
do it for aaron!
MY PLAYER RATINGS – SLAG THEM OFF COZ I KNOW YOU WILL 🙂
Almunia 7 – Didnt see much wrong with his game tonight.
Sagna 7 – Again did nothing wrong in my eyes – solid.
Verminater 9 – F****** solid as ever.
Campbell 8 – We have missed him since he left…made a couple of errors but a CLASS ACT.
Clichy 8 – Again played a solid game and is getting back to his best.
Diaby 8 – Love how he is proving some of our “supporters” wrong in his performances of late.
Nasri 10 – Give this boy some responsibilty and he wont let us down as he proved tonight.
Song 8 – Funny it was just a year ago when everyone wondered what was this guy was doing in our team…now we know.
Asharvin 7 – didnt like him saying it usually takes him 20 minutes to score coz he DIDNT tonight. Good performance though but wish he would take a leaf out of Nikki’s book and do the business when it matters, but created…love him still.
Bendtner 10 – The guy is unbelievably arrogant but when he does what he did tonight who can blame him? I have so much respect for him for standing tall and delivering the goods tonight. I dont care if he doesnt score again till the quarter finals.
Rosicky 8 – you wouldnt believe this guy was out for 18 months the way he was twisting and turning his markers tonight. It can only mean he is just about there in terms of being at his lethal best again. More to come of him before the season is out and im thinking he will be our Hero to take us to the double.
Im not used to refs on our side. SO it seems like we getting the protection we should get. IT feels different lol. But im fine with it. We played well i think we really have the ability to win the prem or chams league. Im thinking the league.
RE: Jesus – get used to it buddy coz i think we are gonna see some protection for the rest of the season now. Burnley was the beginning – but lets see what happens when we play Hull. If we get the same again then it will only make me feel even stronger that the Premiership is coming back to The Arsenal this season.
Just got back in from the game :-)!!!! Quality performance all of them (apart from the waiter) MOM – Step forward Nasri!!!! Great performance and fantastic goal!!!! Was especially loving the chants for Ramsey!!!
Question – what happened to the left of the dug out??? saw a load of fans shouting as something or someone??
A perfect game by our beloved Arsenal, everyone played great. Nasri’s goal should be in the highlights for the CL for years to come. Well done mates, now lets trash that hull scum!
We got one or two decisions cause UEFA didn’t want to look stupid after the embarrassment of the Swedish ref in the 1st leg. If you add on the Danish ref messing up the Chelsea-Barca tie last year the Scandinavian refs are definitely the ones to avoid. Don’t get to used to the favouritism though, we sure as hell won’t get it in the league and Barca, Madrid and Munich will all get the benefit of the doubt in Europe.
e.g. see tonight’s game and the 1st leg between Munich and Fiorentina – disgraceful refereeing, should’ve been two pens for handball to the Italians and Schweinsteiger more or less punched one of the defenders in the face and got a yellow.
Good on you Ben,i’d give them all 10 out of 10.
TOTALLY agre Stone,even wolves created chances vs the manure defence but no one says a thing.
Arshavin did not play at the Dragao in the 1st leg so he was always going to give them problems. I don’t mind when Arshavin doesn’t score but when he runs at defences the way he did today, I don’t mind if he creates for others. He was involved in the 1st 2nd and 4th goals. He was master-provider extraordinaire and I will personally say he was my MoTM
Bendtner demonstrates us that football is “unpredictable”, like him…Today he hasn’t any problem to score, indeed he was so effective that now all fans have enormous faith at him….I think the same as before, Bendtner is no so good as RVP or Fab at scoring efficiency, but… Arsene has so much faith at him, that sometimes B-52 works pretty well, like today. Great hat trick for him = 8
Song & Vermaelen are true safety for us, outstanding defensive work!!! = 10
Nasri’s goal, the best of 16’s round, and the best of the month for sure = 8
Arshavin, Diaby, Eboue & Campbell, very effective players today = 7,5
Sagna, Clichy, Almunia & Rosicky… = 7 and nothing else.
i cant remember a time when i was this happy oh yah when we went to San siro good times,good times.Truth be told though this was a very good perfomance and i still don’t understand some doom arsenal fans it’s as if they choose not to believe even when we palying well i will always stand by the boys and round of applause to the fans for the noise levels in the stadium. All we can do now be hopefull and cheer on our boys and take every game as it comes i have never been this thrilled in a while Lord knows we deserve smthn we have waited long enough. Funny though how people like to attack us even on a good day like yday.Is Man Utd the same team they were last season?hell no!!!!Are they solid defensively?hell no!!!(wolves had a good go at them,Fulham scored three and Everton too) and still they are the best team in the world
Excellent match last night. The stadium was buzzing, the best atmosphere i have felt at the grove since we moved in. I believe we the fans helped alot in this match, particularly getting the players to play again at the start of the 2nd half, we were still in the locker room for 15mins…
I think nasri was excellent last night, song was also great. A lot of our players made some silly casual mistakes, asharvin, clichy and even song, lucky these didn’t cost us, but they need to be ironed out before we play better teams. I love campbell, but it wasn’t his day, he either looked nervous or is just too slow, didn’t look like he’s switched on upstairs. I hope gallas get fit soon as we need him for bigger matches. Vermaelen was a rock, he made some great blocks and made up for campbell’s shortcomings.
Well done the arsenal for a great win, even with RVP, gallas, and cesc out! What other teams can win like that with the spine of their team injured? not many… god, you got to love arsenal
Come on you gooners!
I say bring on chelsea or man U nxt round. we need to do one of them in to gain that confidence to go all the way.If we play well, we go tru. If not, we go home not good enough. SIMPLES
Arshavin – genius!