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Rob Styles finally puts Reading out of their misery and although that Shorey strike took some of the gloss of the scoreline, Arsenal will be very pleased to have recorded such an easy victory from a potentially tricky fixture.
Now Theo Walcott with a chance for Arsenal as he races onto a Rosicky cutback but he can't keep his shot down and he blazes over.
Eboue is in, surely it is number four for the Gunners, but the Ivorian tries to be a little too clever and can only find the side netting.
GOAL: Reading 1-3 Arsenal: Nicky Shorey does finally get his name on the scoresheet as he pokes the ball home after a short goalmouth scramble, but it will be little more than a consolation.
Changes for both sides as Tomas Rosicky and Adebayor are off for Arsenal with Bendtner and Walcott on, while Shane Long replaces a very tired Doyle for Reading.
Nicky Shorey almost gives Reading a consolation for their efforts as his free kick rattles back off the post and that is definitely as close as the Royals have come.
He may be a superb player but Fabregas has stupidly got himself his fifth caution fo the season and he will now miss the Wigan game.
Lassana Diarra has complained already about a lack of minutes this season but he gets the chance to impress now as he replaces Hleb - who gets a standing ovation.
GOAL: Reading 0-3 Arsenal: Hleb with a supber solo goal where he takes it round or past Hahnemann three times before finally putting the keeper out of his misery by finding the top corner from 12 yards.
For what is one of the first times in the half Reading find a way into the Gunners half but Murty is dispossessed almost immediately and Arsenal can come forward again but this time there is nothing doing for them.
Here they come again. Fabregas fancies himself a goal on this bracing Berkshire night and has a chance after a superb one-two with Hleb on the edge of the box but he slices it over.
Another change from Steve Coppell as John Oster replaces the anonymous Bobby Convey, he might wish he had stayed on the bench.
We said at half time how the game could go two ways, well it is most definitely going in only one at the moment, towards Hahenmann's goal and in all honesty this game is over.
It is oh so easy for the Gunners. They are passing the ball around beautifully tonight and giving Reading a real lesson in the art of total football.
Adebayor has been caught offside yet again! It must be 6 times already in this half alone and if only he could time his runs better then he could have a hatful.
Reading have made a change now as Emerse Fae replaces James Harper who has been unable to get on the ball, can he do anything to half the Arsenal charge?
Replays have showed that Adebayor was in fact onside when he rounded Hahnemann to score so reading got away with that one, although I doubt it will matter.
Adebayor again! He has had a goal drought of late but now he has one he fancies more and the man nicknamed 'Kanu with pace' almost adds a second again as he blasts over from the edge of the box.
Another superb flowing move from the Gunners as Adebayor is slipped in behind the defence again and finds the back of the net but it is ruled out as the Togolese had strayed offside.
Arsenal are really finding their rhythm now as they begin to pass the ball around with ease but with pace and swiftness to match.
GOAL: Reading 0-2 Arsenal: Arsenal have doubled their advantage as Adebayor converts after some superb work as ever from Fabregas.
Flamini goes im search of his second of the night as he drives it low from 25 yards and brings a superb save from Hahnemann down low to his right.
Arsenal have started the second period with more of a spring in their step and Eboue escapes down the right wing and tries to find Adebayor in the middle and Ingimarsson does superbly to stop a chance.
The second half is underway at the Madejski and this could go two ways now as Reading look to attack. Arsenal could romp home by a number or Reading could turn it round.
HT: Reading 0 - 1 Arsenal: Arsenal were looking a little frustrated until Flamini struck on the stroke of half-time and now Reading are going to have to try something different after the break.
GOAL: Reading 0 - 1 Arsenal: Reading waste a corner and Arsenal break to take the lead as Adebayor and Hleb combine to give FLAMINI a simple tap-in.
Arsenal don't look to have brought their shooting boots with them tonight as first Toure and then Eboue smash the ball wildly wide and over respectively from just outside the box.
Reading are slowly edging their way into this game and at the moment it would be fair t say they look the most likely to break the deadlock.
After the opening few minutes the game hasn't really caught fire and that is harming Arsenal as they are unable to counter attack and use their pace to trouble the home defence.
Steve Coppell has made a slight change to his tactics as Kitson moves up front on his own, switching places with Doyle in the process and his height has been at the forefront of their better ball retention in the last few minutes.
Brynjar Gunnarsson finds himself in shooting range as Reading keep the ball around hte edge of the Arsenal box and he lets fly now and Almunia is forced into a fine save to deny him the opening goal.
Reading finally manage to force out an attack as Doyle escapes into the right channel and whips in a cross that Harper may have got on the end of if Almunia had not dived so smartly on the ball at the near post.
The Royals faithful, perhaps appreciating how the play has gone of late, are singing ironic 'oles' as their team manage to string a few passes together but they can't get anywhere really and the Gunners are happy with that.
Reading frustrated United earlier this season with defensive tactics and they are trying to do the same here but the way Arsenal are stroking the ball around you get the feeling a goal is on the way.
Kevin Doyle looks completely isolated in the opening 20 minutes or so and he is living off scraps so far, Reading really need to get some support to him when he gets the ball.
Although Arsenal have hit the post they are yet to really make Hahnemann scramble to make a save in the Reading goal.
Both sides look to be keeping the ball well and look confident in their ability in possession and the first goal could be crucial as if Arsenal are the scorers then Reading could have real problems.
Arsenal have enjoyed almost total possession of the ball in the last five minutes or so and if Reading allow them to pass the ball around in the final third as they are now then they could be giving themselves problems.
Fabregas is a marked man so far and everytime the little Spaniard gets on the ball three Reading players converge on him before he can get his head up.
It really is end-to-end stuff at the Madejski as Harper is denied form range by Almunia and the Spaniard sets up a break through Hleb but for once the Belarusian is sloppy with his control and Reading steal it back.
The game has settled into a neat rhythm already as Arsenal take possession and now Harper is hustled out of it by Fabregas and he feeds Adebayor brilliantly and he strikes the outside of the post.
Reading beginning at lightning speed and Arsenal are under early pressure as Kitson and Doyle both have shots blocked.
Rob Styles is tonight's official and - after a minute's silence for Rememberance Sunday - he blows his whistle to start the game in front of an excitable Reading support.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky, Hleb, Adebayor
Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Convey, Gunnarsson, Harper, Hunt, Kitson, Doyle
Arsenal preseved their unbeaten start to the campaign with a late late William Gallas goal against table topping Manchester United last week and they go with the same starting eleven tonight.
Reading started very slowly this season and tha was partly down to a lack of goals from Kevin Doyle but the Irishman has found his scoring boots lately and they will look to him to breach what can be a breachable Gunners defence.
We are preparing for kickoff at the Madejski where an improving Reading side are hosting an Arsenal side who are looking to return to the league's summit this Monday evening.
Arsenal's three midweek absentees will be welcomed back on Monday when the Gunners aim to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners begin the weekend above Manchester United on goal difference with a game in hand, giving United the chance to take top spot if they can beat Blackburn on Sunday. After last weekend's blue-ribbon 2-2 draw between the two sides, the Gunners will be keen to restart a winning run which has stumbled since the 1-1 draw with Liverpool two weeks ago. Despite only managing a goalless Champions League draw with Slavia Prague on Wednesday night, Arsenal should be buoyant and rested come Monday, particularly those players rested in the Czech Republic. Cesc Fabregas, Kolo Toure and Alexander Hleb didn't even travel and, despite Toure carrying a calf injury, should all be back in the team to face Reading. Tomas Rosicky was the fourth star to stay grounded, however, his groin problem is likely to keep him out for a week at least and he's unlikely to play on Monday. Manuel Almunia's place as the first-choice goalkeeper remains up for debate, despite manager Arsene Wenger's insistence that he will be given further chances to redeem himself. Almunia has been blamed for both of United's goals last week but Wenger has since confirmed that he will be, "sticking with one goalkeeper". "Jens Lehmann was injured and Almunia has done extremely well since then for ten games on the trot. I didn't want to disturb the side and until now, he has done very well," Wenger said earlier this week. Reading lost 3-1 at Fulham last weekend and will need a much better performance to cope with Arsenal's attacking side and get anything from a fixture they've never won before. Speaking after that defeat, Reading manager Steve Coppell looked ahead to the fixture against Arsenal with low expectations. "If we get anything from that game it's a magnificent boost for us. We all aspire to match them and realistically we've got to compete against them, but as long as we have a go at them it's a no-lose situation," Coppell explained.
Arsenal secured the two-goal victory they needed to return to the top of the Premier League, as they saw off a spirited Reading side 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium. The Gunners showed patience and perseverance to break down a well-organised home side, Mathieu Flamini opening the scoring a minute before half-time before second-half efforts from Emmanuel Adebayor and Alex Hleb made sure of victory. Nicky Shorey pulled back a late consolation goal for the Royals, but the goal could not deny Arsenal their return to the summit. Reading, wary of the continual threat of Arsenal and the 4-0 hiding they received in this fixture last year, set up to contain and frustrate, but with a clear intention to break with pace and determination whenever they got the chance. That was easier said than done, and Arsenal served notice of their class as early as the fourth minute, Adebayor shaving the outside of a post after Tomas Rosicky had caught James Harper in possession in midfield. Reading's chances were few and far between, but they were unlucky not to take the lead midway through the first half when Brynjar Gunnarsson, employed as a holding midfielder, thumped a stinging half-volley that Manuel Almunia theatrically pushed away. But the home side's spirited tactical resistance came apart at the seams a minute before half-time when they sensed an opening from a corner, only to be outstripped with a devastating counter-attack. Gunnarsson's tackle on Rosicky rolled kindly for Emmanuel Eboue and the ball travelled smoothly through Adebayor then Hleb and into Flamini, who beat Ibrahima Sonko to the ball to add a scruffy finish to a sophisticated build-up. It was Flamini's first league goal in more than a year, but he nearly added a second five minutes into the second half, forcing Marcus Hahnemann to push his low shot round a post. But the second goal was not long in coming and again it was a sweet move, Adebayor and Rosicky exchanging passes before Cesc Fabregas teed up Adebayor for a sidefoot finish that he threaded through a crowd of players and inside the far post. Hleb added a third 11 minutes from time, teasing Hahnemann into committing himself before stepping into space and firing home a shot that Sonko could not stop on the line. But the home side deserved something for their efforts and it came in the form of a late consolation from England full-back Shorey. Substitute Shane Long nearly scored, his header forcing Almunia to push the ball against the inside of a post, but the rebound fell kindly for Shorey to sidefoot into an empty net, as the home side had the last word on an entertaining night.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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