Arsenal peaking at the right time.

Arsenal's resounding 5-0 win over Porto in the Champions League second leg
round of 16 last night was one of their finest performances in Europe and suggests they are peaking at just the right time. Despite being without Cesc Fabregas and finding themselves 2-1 behind from the first leg, there was no fluke about the margin of victory. Arsene Wenger could easily have left Nicklas Bendtner out of his starting line-up at the Emirates after his nightmare match against Burnley last Saturday when he missed about half a dozen chances in Arsenal's 3-1 victory, but his faith was fully justified by the young Dane's hat-trick.


Samir Nasri's breathtaking dribble and shot for Arsenal's third goal on 63 minutes, was the point at which the tie slipped beyond Porto's reach. Three minutes later a devastating counter-attack ended with Andrey Arshavin playing in substitute Emmanuel Eboue, who went round Helton to score Arsenal's fourth. Porto had already suffered enough, but there was more misery to come in stoppage time. Eboue was tripped in the penalty area and Bendtner slotted home the spot-kick for his treble. His opening two goals, both in the first half, were from close range after typically slick Arsenal approach play.