Arsenal 4 FC Twente 0: Match Report & Player Ratings

Arsenal waltzed to victory against FC Twente at the Emirates stadium tonight to cement their place in the group stages of the Champions League. It was all too easy in the end; Steve McLaren's side looked beaten before a ball was even kicked.

Arsenal looked nervous in the first half and rarely committed men forward; it was a controlled performance rather than an impressive one. On 27 Samir Nasri latched onto a Van Persie pass, feinted to shoot then slipped the ball past Nikolay Mihailov to open the scoring. Then, in what was a fairly sterile first half, Van Persie missed an open goal when the ball squirted to him in the box after good work on the right flank from Walcott - it was an unbelievable miss from little more than 10 yards.

In the second half, Twente made little effort to pull a goal back, they seemed happy enough knocking it around at the back and enjoying the Emirates view. However, their lethargy only led to mistakes and on 52 Bendtner broke into the box and tried an Henry-type curler into the far corner with Gallas doubling Arsenal's advantage having pounced on the goalkeepers deflection.

Perhaps the best goal came from Theo Walcott. Latching on to a miscontrol by Bendtner in midfield, Walcott zoomed clear and curled his finish round the keeper in style. Bendtner capped off the win after a bundle in the box was back heeled by Denilson into his path. The Dane cooly slotted under the keeper to complete a 4-0 scoreline.

At the back Arsenal were hardly tested all evening, but Almunia almost messed up when he rushed out of his goal for no other reason than boredom and almost allowed Twente a gift. Fortunately, the offside whistle was blown to save his blushes.

With Arsenal fans looking for a big performance tonight after the Fulham debacle, they got the goals but little else - this wasn't much of a test. Twente looked like a Division One side and showed a startling lack of ambition considering the circumstances. Still, Arsenal did the job professionally and the result will have restored some pride and confidence if little else.

Almunia (5)
Had virtually nothing to do but nearly made a costly gaffe when he rushed out of his goal for no reason and caused panic in the defence.
Sagna (6)
Was obviously ordered to stay back because the Frenchman wasn't his usual attacking self.
Djourou (6)
Was pretty comfortable throughout, certainly shows a lot more confidence and composure than Senderos.
Gallas (7)
Was in full control defensively and made up for lack of numbers in the box to score a poacher's goal.
Clichy (6)
Comfortable throughout.
Walcott (7) STAR MAN
Struggled to beat Twente's left back in the first 30 but gradually grew in confidence as the game progressed causing the opposition numerous problems. Capped off his display with a fine second-half goal.
Denilson (6)
Set up Arsenal's fourth with a great back heel in the box, but again his passing was generally below par and still doesn't get stuck in enough.
Fabregas (6)
Played 65 minutes but clearly lacking match fitness.
Nasri (6)
Not quite as impressive as he has been of late, but scored the sort of goal Hleb would never have dared to attempt. Rested at half time.
Bendtner (5)
Nothing was coming off for Bendtner tonight, he was slow and ponderous and seemed to miscontrol the ball at every opportunity. Ironically, this led to a couple of goals - although more by luck than design. Showed persistence to score in the last minute, but in a closer game he would have almost certainly been dragged off early.
Van Persie (4)
Never really got into the game and missed an absolute sitter in the first half. Van Persie needs to buck his ideas up and get more involved from start to finish.

SUBSTITUTES

Eboue (5)
Came on at half time but saw little of him.
Adebayor (5)
Made little impact as a sub.
Song (5)
Strolled around making comfortable square passes in the last 20 minutes.