Arsenal 4-1 AZ Alkmaar: Fabregas Double Puts Gunners One Step Closer

Arsenal moved one step closer to the Champions League knock-out stages with a comfortable 4-1 over AZ Alkmaar at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger's side dominated the contest from the offset, and it came as no surprise when captain Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring with a shot from outside the AZ area which Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero will be disappointed to have conceded at his near post.

The home side came out looking to impose themselves from the opening whistle, with Robin van Persie trying his luck with a right-footed effort from distance that flew just wide of  Romero’s goal in the third minute.

Having set a quick tempo early on, Arsenal were able to dictate the play throughout the first half with a slick passing game that left their opponents chasing shadows for long periods, and an opening goal seemed inevitable as the Gunners began to turn possession into chances – the best of which fell to Abou Diaby, who couldn’t make the most of Emmanuel Eboue’s pacey cross from the right side.

The deadlock was broken on 25 minutes when Fabregas dribbled inside from the left wing and caught Romero off guard with a poked effort that crept past the Argentine International to give the home team a deserved lead.

Samir Nasri, making his first Champions League appearance of the season, doubled Arsenal's advantage on the stroke of half time. The France midfielder wrong-footed his marker and produced a composed finish after getting on the end of a sublime through-pass from Andrey Arshavin, giving the Gunners a two-goal cushion going into the half-time break.

Despite a comfortable lead the home side showed no signs of allowing the tempo to drop after the interval, with Russia captain Arshavin again playing the role of creator as he linked well with Diaby before releasing Fabregas, who finished coolly to put Arsenal out of sight with his second of the game on 52 minutes.

Abou Diaby capped an all-action individual performance by putting the finishing touch on a vintage Arsenal move to make it 4-0 on 72 minutes. Substitute Eduardo set Arshavin away with an exquisite back-heeled pass before the Russian picked out the lung-busting run of Diaby, who steadied himself and fired past Romero as Arsenal all but guaranteed their qualification from Group H.

There was still time for AZ to grab a controversial consolation ten minutes later, with Jeremain Lens breaking free of the Arsenal defense and beating Manuel Almunia when it looked like the recently re-instated goalkeeper could have done better. The goal came just moments after Arsenal had a penalty appeal turned away when an AZ defender appeared to handle the ball while defending al corner. The referee dismissed the home side’s protests, and Lens broke away from the resulting clearance and appeared to surprise Almunia by taking his shot early, beating the Spaniard at his near post.

The result leaves Arsenal in a commanding position in Group E, needing just a point from their remaining two fixtures to secure passage to the knock-out stages. While Arsene Wenger may be disappointed with the manner in which his side conceded late in the game, he will doubtless take great satisfaction from the style and incision that his players displayed from start to finish.

Matthew McKeown, Goal.com