Gunners see off sub-Standard opposition

ARSENE WENGER will never desist from his pursuit of perfection but, occasionally at least, even the Arsenal manager will acknowledge that there is pleasure to be found in a simple job well done.

Wenger will need his bright young things to perform with more polish than this if they are to hoist a first Champions League trophy in Madrid in May, but at least they will have the chance to make that progress. This ultimately comfortable victory, secured by first-half goals from the lively Samir Nasri and Denilson, rubber-stamped their place in the last 16 for the seventh consecutive season.

There was a pointed caveat, with Kieran Gibbs suffering a fractured metatarsal in his left foot after being felled by a poor tackle from Eliaquim Mangala. Gibbs, who was taken to hospital after the game, will have an operation this morning and is likely to be ruled out for a minimum of two months. With Chelsea the next side to visit the Emirates on Sunday, a game Arsenal realistically cannot afford to lose if they wish to prolong their interest in the title race, and Gael Clichy already ruled out with a back problem, that represents a grievous blow.

“It was a very bad challenge and it wasn’t the first time he [Mangala] tried it,” said a visibly annoyed Wenger.

The Frenchman will also be forced to monitor the fitness of William Gallas, who failed to re-emerge for the second half due to ankle and eye injuries, the latter sustained after colliding with Andrey Arshavin.

On the field, at least, there was satisfaction, even if the reaction of both players and supporters appeared to be one of a collective shoulder-shrug. This is a club which now expects nothing less than to progress to the sharp end of Europe’s elite competition and there might even have been those within this glittering arena who would have anticipated Arsenal securing their passage with rather more panache.

Wenger, too, will not be fooled into thinking that the road to Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium next May is already clear. There is still something not entirely convincing about this Arsenal side – full of individual talents, no doubt, but also prone to the kind of sloppiness which more formidable opponents would surely punish.

It was writ large into their performance last night, most obviously in the first half, when they repeatedly refused to take routine chances. Nasri, for all his class, missed two presentable opportunities, while Cesc Fabregas and Arshavin also failed to find the target when the net should have bulged.

Then there was also a comical goalmouth scramble which should make its way on to a least one Christmas blooper DVD next month. After a Fabregas corner sparked panic, Arshavin directed an effort from point-blank range straight at Sinan Bolat, the Standard goalkeeper, before Carlos Vela somehow struck the post on the rebound from three yards. The loose ball squirted to Thomas Vermaelen and his fierce drive was arrowing into the top corner before being deflected wide by Arshavin, bruising the Russian’s head and his pride.

That profligacy was startling enough but so, too, was a brace of defensive lapses which could have complicated a routine evening. While the score was still 0-0, Dieudonne Mbokani’s drive shuddered the home woodwork; then, moments before half-time, the Austrian referee Konrad Plautz bizarrely refused to give a penalty for Gallas’ crude lunge on Reginal Goreux.

Ultimately, Arsenal were able to gloss over those aberrations thanks to Standard’s own propensity for pratfalls. Nasri’s opening goal came gift wrapped by Landry Mulemo, whose slip allowed Vermaelen’s speculative long ball to become a killer pass. Then, in first-half stoppage time, Bolat made a horrible mess of dealing with Denilson’s long-range shot, which swirled over his head and into the net.

That turned the second half into little more than a glorified practice session that was played at a pace which was hardly even pedestrian. The only talking points were a belated run-out for Theo Walcott and a late red card for Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez, dismissed for thrusting his head into Fabregas’ face.

“I believe we can go further than ever before in this tournament,” Wenger added. “We move into the cup stage now, and that’s very different psychologically. Every minute now becomes important. But we have been consistent and that is pleasing.”

ARSENAL (4-4-3): Almunia 6; Eboue 7, Gallas 7 (Silvestre 46, 6), Vermaelen 8, Gibbs 7; Fabregas 6, Song 6, Denilson 7 (Rosicky 66, 6); Nasri 9 (Walcott 60, 6), Vela 6, Arshavin 7.

STANDARD LIEGE (4-5-1): Bolat 5; Camozzato 5, Sarr 5, Felipe 6, Goreux 7; Dalmat 6 (Traore 64, 5), Mangala 5, Witsel 5, Sarr 5, Carcela-Gonzalez 5; Mbokani 6 (Cyriac 67, 5).

Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria).