Arsenal 6 - 0 Braga
Fabregas celebrates his penalty with fellow goalscorer Chamakh
By Jonathan Stevenson
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Arsenal got their bid for a first
Champions League triumph off to the perfect start at the Emirates with a
dismantling of Portuguese side Braga.
The Gunners took seven minutes to go ahead, Cesc Fabregas scoring from the spot after a foul on Marouane Chamakh. Andrey Arshavin slammed in Fabregas's sublime pass, before Jack Wilshere superbly set up Chamakh to drill home.
Fabregas headed in to make it 4-0 and Carlos Vela dinked in a fifth before he stroked home another to wrap things up.
It was a display that epitomised everything boss Arsene Wenger holds dear as his Gunners team tore the Champions League debutants apart.
Arsenal brought their usual magnetic passing game to the European curtain-raiser, but they seemed to raise their level a notch above the norm with some fabulous interchanges that saw Braga spend most of the evening chasing shadows.
606: DEBATE
The Arshavin Codex
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In front of an expectant Emirates Stadium crowd Arsenal were immediately into their stride and Braga, making their debut in the competition, looked overawed as a Fabregas-inspired Gunners swarmed all over them.
The Spaniard had a penalty appeal rejected after only three minutes and soon after it was from his pass that Braga keeper Felipe brought down Chamakh, Fabregas stepping up to slot home for his first goal of the season.
Vela lifts the ball over Felipe for Arsenal's fifth
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With half an hour gone they doubled their advantage as Fabregas jinked past two static defenders and slid in Arshavin down the left, the Russian drilling under Felipe to make it 2-0.
That soon became three as the Gunners scored a goal few inside the stadium are likely to forget in a hurry.
Another fine passing move at pace saw Bacary Sagna's cross from the right half-cleared, only for Arshavin to clip it to Chamakh, who laid it off and then collected a gorgeous back-heeled flick from Wilshere to crash past a flailing Felipe.
After the break it was a damage limitation exercise for Braga, but Arsenal still found gaping holes in their defence and one such opportunity enabled an unmarked Fabregas to head in Arshavin's cross from the left.
He first produced a classy, clipped finish to convert Arshavin's fine pass and then took advantage of Fabregas's generosity to knock in a sixth.
Bigger tests await Wenger and his team in Europe this season, but they could barely have got off to a more emphatic start.