Wilshere, Fabregas and Chamakh celebrate a fine move
Written by Shaun Wares
(Photographs courtesty of telegraph.co.uk)
Not a betting man myself, I had to admit that I was sceptical at the halftime odds projected by bet365.com. A husky voiced Ray Winstone directed my attention to the 14/1 odds for a 6-0 Arsenal victory. Wrongly assuming that the Gunners would take their foot off the gas come the second half, I was pleasantly surprised. As the old cliché goes, it’s a game of two halves. In this case, it certainly was: two halves of Arsenal dominance.
Despite an excellent weekend performance, I was nonetheless apprehensive before kick-off. Braga, an unknown quantity to the average Gunners fan, looked a strong, athletic outfit, and could easily have provided a shock to a complacent side.
However, once Fabregas slotted home a well-placed penalty in the seventh minute, my doubts began to disappear. A solid performance from the ever-improving Jack Wilshere, plus a brace from the more than promising Carlos Vela, complemented a virtuoso performance from Cesc Fabregas.
Braga were accused of giving him too much time and space, perhaps rightly so; but as he has demonstrated so many times before, he can work his magic in even the tightest of spaces. Another impressive Chamakh performance begs the question: why did Wenger wait till the summer to buy him? Wednesday was most certainly the Arsenal show, and Fabregas was pulling all the strings.
This performance will doubtless draw comparisons with Tuesday night’s Barcelona victory. However, with the fluidity, speed and accuracy of passing eclipsed the Catalans. Braga, Champions League debutants have certainly got a few things to mull over on the flight home. I say watch out Barca.
