Gunners turn on style against Rosenborg

Arsenal 5 Rosenborg 1

Arsenal saved their best for last as they recovered their European footing to stride confidently into the Champions League knock-out stages as group winners.

Having stumbled uncertainly in drawing their past four group games, they left a pitiful Rosenborg side shell-shocked with a four-goal first-half blast at Highbury.

And with Panathinaikos also winning at home to PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal even go into next week’s draw as one of the eight group winners, unbeaten in Europe and with their belief rediscovered.

Then again, such was the shocking ineptitude of Rosenborg’s defending that, as tests go, this was more two-times table than degree level.

Jose Reyes, with his first goal in two months, Cesc Fabregas – now the club’s youngest European goalscorer at just 17 – Thierry Henry and Robert Pires put Arsenal out of sight before half-time.

The suspensions for Patrick Vieira and Lauren were irrelevant, with Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini giving assured displays in a central midfield partnership with a total age of just 37.

With substitute Robin van Persie rounding off the scoring late on, this, however, was still a game which Arsenal’s Carling Cup side could probably have won.

And Arsene Wenger will have relished the lack of a competitive second half before facing Chelsea on Sunday.

However, for all the danger posed by Arsenal’s potent attack, their defensive shortcomings remain and their goalkeeping conundrum remains as worryingly large as ever.

Jens Lehmann can never have been as highly regarded at Highbury as he is now, with stand-in Manuel Almunia guilty of another embarrassing handling error for Rosenborg’s goal.

Failing to restore Lehmann for Sunday’s clash would be little short of stubbornness by Wenger, given that Rosenborg’s attack is incomparable to that of Chelsea.

A net total of three games and three basic mistakes surely tell its own story.

This time, however, Arsenal did not pay the price of Almunia’s uncertainty.

They may have earlier drawn away to Rosenborg but the Norwegian champions, who are on a break to London after completing their own domestic season, started exactly like a team already on holiday.

Reyes, presumably playing only because of Fredrik Ljungberg withdrawing with a migraine, could not have found a more accommodating defence against which to score for the first time since October 2.

His first touch was hardly impressive when Dennis Bergkamp’s pass reached him inside the penalty area but the hapless Torjus Hansen firstly stood off him and then slipped as Reyes stumbled past him.

At least Reyes kept his nerve to finish past Espen Johnsen, but it was soon clear that this was no one-off mistake by Rosenborg’s faulty impersonation of a top-class defence.

For all his other faults, Almunia did produce an excellent diving save to tip Harald Brattbakk’s volley around the post.

However, Arsenal were soon back on the offensive as Henry dispossessed Hansen inside the penalty area and Johnsen was out only just in time to deny him.

The Rosenborg ‘keeper could not repeat the feat on 24 minutes when Flamini’s midfield block sent the ball spinning towards the Rosenborg goal.

Henry destroyed Hansen – who else? – for pace and lifted his shot over Johnsen as he raced out of his area before watching the ball bounce into the unguarded net.

Johnsen did manage to deny Bergkamp, but the holes in the Rosenborg defence were becoming gaping fissures as Arsenal attacked almost at will.

Fabregas duly put them 3-0 ahead with a goal of consummate class, belying the inexperience of a 17-year-old in his first season in the Champions League.

Not only did he show the control to bring down Pires’ pass, but he had the composure to lift the ball past Erik Hoftun as he twisted back inside before burying a half-volley past Johnsen.

All that was left for Rosenborg was to prevent a massacre, but Arsenal’s own defensive shortcomings have not yet been cleared up and they remain worryingly vulnerable to set-pieces

Rather than heeding the warning posed when Roar Strand powered a header against the outside of the post from a corner, they allowed Rosenborg to pull a goal back.

Just as worrying for Wenger, it was Almunia at fault once again as he flapped at a free-kick and failed to prevent Hoftun beating him at the near post.

Not that it was a lifeline. Just a few minutes later, Henry ghosted through the offside trap as if it never existed and was brought down by Johnsen.

With Henry rarely taking penalties if he has been fouled, Pires duly converted the spot-kick to put Arsenal 4-1 ahead even before the break.

With Arsenal’s victory effectively assured, the heat was taken out of the game and the second half was something of a non-event.

Henry struck the side-netting, while substitute Robin van Persie twice came close and Reyes’ audacious lob landed on the roof of the net.

Van Persie finally found the target in the final stages and, as news filtered through of PSV’s defeat in Athens, Arsenal’s perfect evening – Almunia’s display apart – was complete.