Wenger’s birthday treat

Arsenal’s 5-2 thumping of Fenerbahce will have sent tremors across Europe, writes David Hytner.

When Arsene Wenger, who turned 59 on October 22, the day after the match, reflects on how his team dismantled Fenerbahce in front of their own boisterous supporters, to move decisively towards the Champions League knockout phase, he will do so with pride. It was one of those nights when Arsenal’s cut and thrust blazed an eye-catching trail. Fenerbahce, abject in defence, will carry these scars for some time, and will certainly feel them when they visit the Emirates Stadium on November.

Arsenal endured some nervy moments but most things went Wenger’s way. He could be particularly delighted by the performance of his surprise selection, Abou Diaby. The midfielder marked his first start since April with Arsenal’s third goal of a whirlwind first-half spell.

The Turkish crowd’s stunned silence for long spells told its own story, as did their magnanimous applause for Arsenal at full-time. “It was an open game, the two teams threw everything forward but overall, our pace, movement and technique made the difference,” said Wenger. “Our average age tonight was 22 but we tried to dictate the game in a heated atmosphere. We showed no fear and that is pleasing.”

Fenerbahce had not lost in 15 previous European ties at home but Arsenal rocked them with a devastating one-two punch in the space of 70 seconds to shape the game. Once in front, as Wenger noted, his team caught Fenerbahce “many times” on the counter.

The early goals were the epitome of simplicity, and advertised glaring weaknesses in the Fenerbahce back line. Cesc Fabregas was the creator, threading killer balls through for first Emmanuel Adebayor and then Theo Walcott. Both finished unerringly.

“Everyone is just flying,” enthused Walcott. “We are playing brilliant football and scoring plenty of goals from all sorts of positions.”

This season’s Fenerbahce is a different vintage from the last. Under the management of Luis Aragones, who replaced Zico — sacked in the summer despite the club’s run to the Champions League quarterfinals — they have struggled in the league, while their hopes in Europe’s elite competition now appear doomed.

Aragones’ team rallied to reduce the arrears. Arsenal suffered a lapse in concentration from a floated free-kick, allowing the unmarked Daniel Guiza to volley goalwards, the ball flicking home off the unfortunate Mikael Silvestre. But Fenerbahce’s joy was short-lived. Revelling in his attacking brief, Diaby charged on to a long ball, shrugged off Claudio Maldonado and fired low into the far corner. “Diaby has good penetrative power and he responded remarkably,” said Wenger.

Arsenal were far from comfortable in defence, where the unfamiliar central partnership of Alex Song and Silvestre struggled for cohesion and authority. Manuel Almunia was forced to make a string of smart saves. It did not feel as if Arsenal could relax completely at 3-1 — Wenger described Fenerbahce as “very dangerous” going forward — yet that changed with the second half minutes old, when the hosts shot themselves in the foot in darkly comic circumstances.

Fabregas’s free-kick glanced off the head of Selcuk Sahin and cannoned into the face of a team-mate before another, Gokhan Gonul, made a weak attempt to head clear. The ball dropped onto the right boot of Song and his volley swelled the far corner of the net. Fenerbahce did not let their heads drop. Guiza eventually got the goal his persistence deserved, after Song could not deal with a high ball. But, by then, the occasion had fallen flat for the home crowd. The last word, appropriately, went to Arsenal, the substitute Aaron Ramsey’s low shot fizzing in off the far post for his first goal for the club.

“It’s fantastic because the boy is only 17,” said Wenger. “He had a presence in the game as soon as he came on and you could see that he was not scared.” The manner and margin of Arsenal’s victory will have sent tremors across Europe.