Arsenal 4 AZ Alkmaar 1: Fantastic Fabregas Leads Arsenal Rout

Arsenal swept to within touching distance of the Champions League knockout stage with a crushing victory over a dreadful AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday.

The north Londoners made a mockery of their failure to beat the Dutch champions in Holland a fortnight ago with a rampant performance, capped by a brace for Cesc Fabregas and further goals for Samir Nasri and Abou Diaby.

Nasri's strike, on just his second appearance since recovering from a broken leg, might have given manager Arsene Wenger the most pleasure but, apart from conceding a sloppy late goal to Jeremain Lens, there was little fault to be found with a performance that was clinical and polished in equal measure.

Sterner tests await Wenger's team, but in this form it is easy to see why their manager considers them ready to win a major trophy.

REACTION:
Wenger was understandably delighted with his team's luminous performance and insisted they had the quality to unsettle the best Europe has to offer in the competition's latter stages.

He said: "It was a brilliant performance, we dominated techinically and tactically and we were never under threat. We played with a confidence, we were technically astute and overall I am very happy indeed."

When asked to assess Arsenal's possible achievement in qualifying for the knock-out stage in 10 successive seasons, he added: "I don't know what it says but we are consistent.

"We grow from game to game. We get stronger from game to game and it's important to keep that attitude to progress and improve. We have to believe in our future.

"The competition gets more difficult the more you go on but I believe we have quality. I said before the season that I believe in them but it is down to us to go and be consistent. Then we see how far we can go in this competition.

"Are we scared of anyone? At the moment, it's difficult to say. Let's focus on ourselves and as good as we can be. If we meet someone better than us, we will see. But we need to focus on how we want to play. We have played like we love the game today and we wanted to express our talent."

Alkmaar coach Ronald Koeman saluted Arsenal's performance but suggested their lack of experience could count against them as the tournament progresses. He added: "Arsenal have a lot of qualities but they are very young and maybe they miss a little bit of experience that other teams like Chelsea and Barcelona have.

"One bad day and you can lose against everybody. It's very close but Arsenal can go a long way in this competition."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Arsenal never had to shift out of second gear to rip apart a dismal Alkmaar side, who came for a point and ended up with precisely what they deserved - nothing. The tone was set by some sweeping early moves from Arsenal, who sliced and diced their opponents' back-line with ease, and there was never any doubt over the final result once Fabregas' shot had bobbled in at the near post. From then, it was simply a case of how many Arsenal would score. Nasri's expert finish doubled the lead just before half-time and Fabregas' third, also set up by the Russian, allowed the Gunners to ease up after the interval. There was still enough momentum for Arsenal to plunder a fourth through Diaby, with Arshavin once again providing the assist, and the only blot on their copybook was Lens' late consolation goal, which arrived courtesy of errors from Kieran Gibbs and Manuel Almunia.

WHAT IT MEANS:
Arsenal now stand on the brink of the knockout stage. One more point against Standard Liege on Matchday Five will suffice and, on this evidence, that should be little more than a formality. Instead, Arsenal will expect to win the game and secure first place in Group H. Wenger will not be fooled, however. He will know that he will not meet opponents as obliging as Alkmaar in the latter stages of the competition and Arsenal will have to raise their game to another level when they meet the continent's A-list. That said, this still represented an ominous message of intent from Wenger's young squad, who must now be taken seriously at home and abroad.

QUOTABLE:

"He did very well. You can be confident for England!" - Arsene Wenger on a solid display by left back Gibbs.

ARSENAL 4 (Fabregas 25, 52, Nasri 43, Diaby 72) AZ ALKMAAR 1 (Lens 72)

Arsenal (4-3-3): Almunia 6; Eboue 6, Gallas 6, Vermaelen 7, Gibbs 6; Fabregas 9 (Ramsey 67, 6), Song 7, Diaby 7; Nasri 7, van Persie 8 (Eduardo 67, 7), Arshavin 8 (Rosicky 75, 6).
Subs (not used): Mannone, Sagna, Senderos, Silvestre.

AZ Alkmaar (4-3-3): Romero 4; Jaliens 4, Moisander 4, Moreno 5, Poulsen 4 (Pocognoli 64, 5); Mendes da Silva 6 (Wernbloom 71, 5), Holman 5, Schaars 5; Dembele 3 (Lens 58, 7), Pelle 6, Martens 6.

Subs (not used): Didulica, Ari, van der Velden, Swerts.

ATTENDANCE: 59,345

NEXT UP:
- Arsenal v Wolves (Away), Premier League 7/11, 1730 GMT

MAN OF THE MATCH:
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal): In truth, there were any number of stand-out performers for Arsenal - most notably Andrey Arshavin - but Fabregas edges it thanks to another effortlessly classy performance. The fact that he has now added goals to his game makes him one of Europe's true stars.