It is no disrespect to Derby to say that this score line was on the cards from the start. Derby have shown themselves to be woeful travellers whilst the Emirates is a modern day Troy for the gunners. Despite numerous injuries affecting the gunner’s team sheet the replacements were a rather tasty prospect for the 60,122 supporters to watch. Diaby, Walcott, Eduardo and Flamini all stepped onto the pitch to show just how much strength in depth this young squad has.
The match kicked off with the gunners flying forward with skill, speed and intent and the possession was very quickly in Arsenals favour. To Derby’s credit when they did have the ball they looked to get forward and do something with it which is a good philosophy for them to use, it may just get them some points from nowhere.
Those points were not going to come today however and on 10 minutes Diaby scored another arsenal goal to be remembered. He has been trying to rocket one in all season having just shot over in previous games and hitting the post against Spurs. He burst down the wing from his left sided position and faced up to three defenders. Taking the ball onto his right foot he deked and shimmied around them into a shooting position from outside the box and hadoukened a thunder strike into the top right hand corner. Bywater had absolutely no chance, it was just sheer brilliance from Diaby and he deserved it for his offensive endeavour this season.
Derby’s response was very positive and for the next 15 minutes they were capable of pressing the ball into their final third and ask slight questions of the arsenal defence. This of course risked the counter and Diaby was presented with a great opportunity through his own endeavour 6 minutes later only for Bywater to palm his shot away.
Derby continued to come forward and it reached a stage where one could sense that Derby may be able to make a game of it when Adebayor scored to make it 2-0.
It was a marvellous goal with Fabregas laying a lovely ball forward for Adebayor to run onto. Bywater rushed out to try and clear it but Ade was first and he swiftly rounded him and put the ball in the back of the net.
That was it for Derby, from that moment on all the ideas and willingness to play disappeared and the possible bombardment resulting in collapse was given a completely free license to become reality.
Only a Banksesque save prevented Eduardo making it 3-0 before the interval. Arsenal were fired up and most noticeably was one certain Theo Walcott who put in one of his best performances in Arsenal shirt. He was running the Derby players ragged, not just down the wing but through the middle too. He ran and tricked through their team like a spring heeled jack on pro plus and were it not for his poor shooting/finishing who knows what kind of impression he would have left on the game. He did enough however to show that he has a lot of potential and you could see just by watching him that he really wants to be in this team.
Five minutes after the second half kicked off Arsenal were awarded a penalty for a tug on Eduardo’s shirt by Matt Oakley and Adebayor dispatched the set piece for his second double in two premier league games. Derby were destroyed now, they just won the ball to lose it again and efforts from Toure, Walcott and Adebayor all could and maybe should have added to Derby’s misery.
Cesc Fabregas’ goal scoring form has been phenomenal this season and he continued his exquisite run by scoring with his last touch before he was subbed. Fabregas picked up the ball outside the area and blasted it with the outside of the foot into the top corner, Bywater got something on it but it was not enough. It is almost unbelievable to see this young superstar having gone through his last few seasons with a poor goal scoring record and a history of scuff shots to have now suddenly mastered the outside of the area Gerrard/Batistuta-esque strikes. It is such a contrast but no-one in the Arsenal camp is complaining as it is what many have been calling the final piece to his jigsaw before he can become a complete player, all at 20 years old!
Denilson, Song and Diarra all came on to wrap up the proceedings and there was still enough time for one more goal which capped a well deserved hat trick for Adebayor. The ball was floated up field towards Ade outside the box and he controlled it perfectly on his chest and bore down into the area. Adebayor then tricked the last defender into not challenging him by performing a little shimmy and consequently slid the ball into the back of the net.
The players were all delighted for him and so were the fans, 5 goals in two premier league games for the Togoan, a mean feat as he moves to the top of the scorer’s charts: and Fabregas thought he had the next player of the month sowed up
The final whistle blew much to Derby County’s relief and a happy Arsene Wenger and Co saluted the fans and merrily trundled down the tunnel after completing another sensational performance. Despite the fact that it was a woefully travelled Derby as opposition the sheer quality of the play eclipses that element, a team simply cannot play like this unless they are of the highest class. All the players that were out, Gallas, Eboue, Lehmann, Rosicky, Hleb, Gilberto and Van Persie were not missed and the performance was the kind we see when they are playing.
This is a wonderful time to be a gooner and whilst it is not a good idea to get carried away the sheer class and spirit within this team make them irresistible to the football purist's eye. They have been the best team in Europe so far this year and the next stop for this conquering team is West Ham away. Another classy win there and surely all the doubters will be eating their words, that is if they are not full up from them already.