Source: Telegraph
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Arsenal 4: match report
Arsenal staged another work of symphonic beauty, even if this latest masterpiece was constructed in two movements. The first was a halting, staccato affair, developed more by luck than judgment as Wolverhampton Wanderers handed them an unassailable lead thanks to two own goals. [LNB]But the second exhibited all their flair and fluidity, as Andrei Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas ran rings around the hosts' bedraggled defenders, helping themselves to a goal apiece and propelling Arsenal to a victory every bit as emphatic as it was ominous. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League tablePremier League actionPremier League fixturesSport on televisionUnreasonably, Arsenal have been omitted from all the attention upon Chelsea and Manchester United due to slip-ups earlier in the season. But the chants from Wolves fans that they were not going to win any silverware again (phrased rather less politely) had no grounding; this performance, coupled with the ease of their Champions League win over AZ Alkmaar four days ago, constituted a clear statement of intent. Arsene Wenger's great project is out of incubation, and fast approaching fruition. [LNB]As for Wolves, this was the first time they had met one of the 'big four' since their elevation to the Premier League, and it was a rude awakening. [LNB]Their defending was unforgivably ragged in patches. Arsenal betrayed the sense of having another gear in reserve and still they turned this into a procession. [LNB]It was disarming to find that they struggled initially to impose their authority, as Wolves strikers Sylvain Ebanks-Blake and Kevin Doyle were allowed surprising latitude around Manuel Almunia's goal. William Gallas could not hide his exasperation, earning a daft yellow card when he slid in recklessly on Doyle. But the portents for Wenger's side became more positive with every half-chance that Wolves wasted, not least when Christophe Berra miscued an easy header. Rare indeed are the times when Arsenal, with their counter-attacking elan, let such carelessness go unpunished. [LNB]So that point was to be proven, spectacularly. Fabregas was the orchestrator of all Arsenal's finest moves, even if the one that delivered the breakthrough was a touch shambolic. [LNB]Swinging in a corner from the left, the Spaniard watched it take a faint deflection off French left-back Ronald Zubar, under some all-enveloping marking from Eduardo, for an own goal. [LNB]Small wonder that the forward rejected the congratulations of his team-mates with a sheepish look that said, "Not me, guv." [LNB]On the touchline Mick McCarthy tried to stay sanguine, always an effort, conveying messages of encouragement to his team as if they had just suffered a simple misfortune. Their luck was to worsen, however, as they presented Arsenal with aother gift. [LNB]Jody Craddock was doing all he could to put Eduardo off his stride, but as the Croatian made a break and unleashed a speculative strike, the centre-half's bulky frame intruded and his head diverted the ball, clearly looping wide, straight into the top corner. At best it was one for the dubious goals panel, at worst one that gave Wolves the unusual and disfiguring statistic of two own goals in one game. [LNB]Wayne Hennessey, Wolves' Welsh goalkeeper, could only look bewildered at how cruelly he had been conspired against in seven first-half minutes. McCarthy reverted to grumpy type, muttering bitter oaths. To his players' credit, they never stinted in their probing for an opening, with Nenad Milijas seeing his free-kick from an acute angle drift fractionally over the bar. [LNB]But if Arsenal had not earned a two-goal cushion lead in the most elegant fashion, then their aesthetes positively showed off for the third. The Wolves back line was filleted as first Bacary Sagna, with his characteristic full-back's surge, crossed for Robin Van Persie, who deftly killed all the pace on the ball for Fabregas to line up and curl a shot around the spreadeagled Hennessey. [LNB]At least the hapless Craddock achieved a measure of atonement with a last-minute consolation goal, courtesy of a fine header. [LNB]The interplay between Van Persie and Arshavin was something to behold, even though the Russian's timing in the tackle was not always on the money. The one disappointment for Van Persie was that, for all his creativity, he could not extend his scoring run to six straight games and equal the record set by Ian Wright in 1994. [LNB]
