No Gunners hangover from Hull

chuu

Robin van Persie led the rout as Arsenal resumed normal service at the EmiratesStadium, with a thumping Champions League victory over Porto tonight.



Van Persie scored his first Champions League goals in over a year.




Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had demanded an emphatic response from his teamfollowing their shock 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat by Hull on Saturday -and they delivered in irresistible fashion.Van Persie struck his first goals in European competition for a year, pouncingeither side of the interval and displaying strength during a well-taken second.Emmanuel Adebayor set up the opener for his strike partner and also helpedhimself to two, the second from the spot after Nicklas Bendtner had been hackeddown by Fredy Guarin.Sloppy finishing prevented Arsenal from further embarrassing the Portuguesechampions, who defended shoddily and looked on the brink of collapse at timesduring the second half.Theo Walcott was a constant menace, gleefully using the space he was given, buthis finishing was not up to the same standard.Porto, who lost the influential Jose Bosingwa and Ricardo Quaresma during thesummer, had never won on English soil in 10 previous attempts and lookedincapable of ending that run tonight.After their draw with Dynamo Kiev in their Group G opener, victory sent Arsenalto the top of the pool - and concluded the soul-searching following thehorror-show against Hull.The Gunners were heavily criticised after the result, not least by Wengerhimself, but the Frenchman resisted the temptation to axe some of hisunder-performing stars.French winger Samir Nasri was the only new face, ending a month-long spell inthe treatment room to replace Emmanuel Eboue - who was relegated to the bench.Nasri had little impact, but the same could not be said for the rest ofArsenal's forward line - who made their presence felt from the start.Breaking fluidly from their own half, short passing from Persie, Fabregas andAdebayor saw the ball worked across the area to Walcott.He was stationed on the right and had time to pick his shot, but a smart savefrom Da Silva Helton saw the effort palmed to safety.The reactions of Helton saved Porto once again shortly afterwards when vanPersie attempted a long-range shot, but then it was Arsenal's turn to mop theirbrows.Tomas Costa sped down the right wing and delivered a perfect cross to CristianRodriguez, whose diving header hit the ground before deflecting off the bar.But the effort offered only temporary respite for Porto - who saw van Persie,Walcott and Adebayor miss half-chances.For all Arsenal's dominance of territory and possession, Porto's speed on thecounter meant they could not afford any lapses in concentration.Lisandro Lopez underlined the point by blasting a beautifully-struck curlingshot at the top corner, but a diving Manuel Almunia reacted just in time.Arsenal remained on top, however, and their perseverance was rewarded with a30th-minute goal by van Persie.Adebayor and van Persie combined expertly down the right of the area, creatingspace for the Togo marksman.He looked up and delayed his pass to the van Persie, who prodded the ballhome.The Gunners surged further ahead with five minutes of the half remaining whenAdebayor leapt above Jorge Rolando to head van Persie's corner towards theground.The ball bounced awkwardly for Helton and defender Nelson Benitez, who wasstationed on the line - the duo watching as it sailed over their heads.The second half was just three minutes old when Arsenal added to the score witha surprisingly easy third.Walcott did the initial damage before the ball found its way to van Persie, whoshowed strength to fend off Bruno Alves and stab home.Porto's defence was crumbling, and Walcott should have made it four but misseda sitter from four yards out.The England forward's pace was proving a constant threat, however, as hemarauded down the right wing at will.Arsenal's fourth arrived when Bendtner, on for van Persie, was brought down bya clumsy tackle from Guarin.Adebayor stepped up and smashed the penalty home to complete an easy night forthe Gunners.