LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is convinced his side's six-goal demolition of Braga in their opening Champions League group game is proof his players have the potential to be winners.
And none more so than captain Cesc Fabregas, who was denied the summer move to Barcelona he had requested.
The Spain midfielder was inspirational at the Emirates Stadium on nfl jerseys
Wednesday as Braga, last season's runners-up in the Portuguese league, suffered the heaviest defeat by a group stage debutant.
Fabregas scored two in the 6-0 Group H victory, including one from the penalty spot, and was involved in setting up the others as Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh and substitute Carlos Vela also found the net.
Mexico striker Vela scored the final two after replacing Chamakh just after the hour mark.
The Arsenal supporters certainly hold no grudges towards Fabregas, who had been keen to move to Barcelona, the club he had left as a teenager to join Arsenal, and Wenger insisted he was convinced the player's heart still belonged to the Gunners.
"I never said it wasn't," said the Arsenal coach.
"He has taken on another dimension. People forget he is 23, where other people start. He is a fantastic influence and it's important that he leads this team to winning.
"For the young players, playing alongside him, it's a fantastic opportunity. If you're 18, like Jack Wilshere, and you see Fabregas, it's a big opportunity to learn a lot.
"I like the way he gave the ball to Vela to score instead of trying to score himself, because that reflects the attitude of a leader. He's not selfish.
"And it reflects the way we play. I think he loves this club. People doubted that, but I never did.
"He arrived here at the age of 16 and enjoys the way we play. What more do you want to be happy?"
Arsenal have not won a trophy in the last five years and though they Dallas Cowboys jersey
always seem to negotiate the group stage, have only once made it all the way to the Champions League final, where they were beaten by Barcelona in 2006.
The current crop of players are young, especially compared to Premier League rivals Manchester United and Chelsea, but Wenger insisted they were mature beyond their years.
"What people forget is that I always believed in this team," he said.
"They are now 22 or 23 and continue to grow. That's normal. What they did at 20 was, for me, exceptional."
Braga were a beaten side the moment goalkeeper Felipe upended Chamakh to concede a penalty in the eighth minute and visiting coach Domingos Paciencia admitted it had been a night to forget.
"It wasn't the result we were expecting," he said.
"When you play a great team, that's the risk you take but we made so many mistakes it's very hard to take. We played badly.
"Above all, I would like to say to them we're not Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
as bad as we were. But Braga is a team that is taking its first steps in the competition.
"We need to keep moving and take it as a an experience and not repeat it."
Anelka grabs double as Chelsea breeze past Zilina
ZILINA, Slovakia (AFP) - Nicolas Anelka scored twice for Chelsea to help the English champions breeze past MSK Zilina 4-1 on Wednesday in their Champions League opener.
Michael Essien opened the scoring in the football jerseys
13th minute with a low shot after an Anelka pass from the left wing.
In the 24th minute, Anelka beat Zilina keeper Martin Dubravka with a low shot across the box after Florent Malouda had chipped the ball superbly over the MSK defence.
Anelka silenced the home crowd four minutes later, making it 3-0 with an easy rebound after Chelsea captain John Terry had hit the crossbar with a powerful header from a Malouda corner.
Malouda then almost made it 4-0 but his shot from 10 metres out, which was heading for an empty net, was deflected wide by Zilina skipper Mario Pecalka.
Zilina, making their debut in the tournament, created few scoring chances throughout the game.
A long-range shot from their Bosnian midfielder Admir Vladavic was saved by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech shortly before half-time and Babatounde Bello then headed wide.
Daniel Sturridge scored a fourth for Chelsea in the 48th minute from a break, beating Dubravka and Pecalka after a neat pass from Yossi Benayoun.
"The first half was fantastic," said Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti. "We played very well on the counter-attack. We had a lot of chances. It was a fantastic performance.
"The second half was different. We had a good control of the game. We are doing very well. We are in a good moment. We started well in the Premier League and in the Champions League - everything is okay now."
The key to wining the game was Anelka, according to Ancelotti.
"He played a fantastic game, opened the space, created opportunities, scored two goals and set up Essien for the first goal.
"He can play in any position up front. Sometimes we use him Indianapolis Colts jersey
out wide, sometimes he plays in the middle. Tonight he showed the same skills as when he plays wide."
Zilina pushed for a consolation goal as the game progressed, with Vladavic missing narrowly from 16 metres in the 49th minute.
Their effort was rewarded 55 minutes into the game.
Tomas Oravec scored after Branislav Ivanovic and Cech got into a terrible tangle.
"I lost a cross in the floodlights, but I don't want to make excuses. It was my fault," Cech said.
Oravec added: "Chelsea capitalised on all their chances at the beginning and then it was tough to play against a team like that… it was naive to think we could equal them."
Chelsea took their foot off the gas and coach Carlo Ancelotti could afford to send on youngsters Josh McEachran, Gael Kakuta and Patrick Van Aanholt for a rare taste of European action.
"We have an important squad. We want at this moment to use all the players," said Ancelotti who was without the suspended Didier Drogba, the injured Frank Lampard and the rested Ashley Cole.
"Chelsea showed their strength, we just couldn't keep pace with them," said Zilina's Czech coach Pavel Hapal.
"It'a pity we couldn't score one more. The result is a lesson for Minnesota Vikings jersey
us, but I'm not disappointed."
In the next round of Group F matches on September 28, Chelsea will welcome Marseille, who lost to Spartak Moscow 1-0 on Wednesday with a late own goal from Cesar Azpilicueta.
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