UEFA Champions League: Arsenal 4 FC Porto 0:FOOTBALL IS often a game of simple delights and the crowd was highly amused when Porto at last sent on the substitute Hulk. In truth, everyone in the ranks of the visitors could have been green, solely out of envy. They were outplayed by an Arsenal side that rediscovered whatever confidence had been lost in defeat to Hull at the weekend and put itself at the top of Group G.

The threat of change is often better than an actual reshaping of a side. It sufficed for Arsene Wenger to put his team on the alert with a threat that each of them could be at risk. There was no reprisal for the loss to Hull, unless you truly believe Emmanuel Eboue was the chief culprit in the debacle. The Ivorian alone was relegated to the bench.

Wenger would be right to continue fretting about his centre-backs, but their chief deficiency is in the air. While that may have to be addressed it was most improbable Porto would have a striker to intimidate the captain William Gallas in the air as Daniel Cousin did for Hull's winner. With the rather small Lisandro as a lone striker, Jesualdo Ferreira's line-up might almost have come to relieve Arsenal's anxieties in one specific respect.

After 12 minutes, Robin van Persie made space for himself despite the presence of the centre-half Bruno Alves and struck a drive that was saved by Helton. Immediately Porto tore free on their right, with Lisandro picking out Tomas Costa for a cross that was headed down into the turf by Cristian Rodriguez, with the ball clipping the top of the bar.

Nonetheless, the openings then were mostly Arsenal's and their lead at the interval was merited. There was a flow to Wenger's side as when Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie set up Theo Walcott for a drive from an angle that Helton turned behind.

Arsenal were making space. As it so often does, that approach led to a goal that was simple to convert. A beautiful spin and pass from Fabregas sent Emmanuel Adebayor behind the defence in the 31st minute for a cut-back that Van Persie tucked home.

Their other goal before the interval was uncharacteristic, resulting, as it did, from a set-piece. Van Persie took the corner in the 40th minute and Adebayor climbed above Rolando for a downward header that bounced over Nelson Benitez and Helton. Events, nonetheless, had not been entirely therapeutic for Arsenal.

The old flaws were there at a corner and Gael Clichy had needed to hack the ball away when a Lisandro effort was bound for the goal after 28 minutes. Previously, the striker had let fly with an attempt Manuel Almunia had needed to turn behind. Even so, Arsenal must have felt that their customary authority in this stadium was returning.

Their fun is misery for whoever happens to be on the pitch with them. There was sense of exuberance when Gallas got involved in an attack on the left to feed Bacary Sagna and just when the move seemed to have broken down Walcott put the ball into the path of Van Persie to score once more with an excellent finish.

Merriment had taken hold of a crowd that must have been tense beforehand. "Are you Tottenham in disguise?" they bayed at Porto. The Portuguese team did look out of their depth. The gusto of Arsenal was unmistakable at their next opening in the 53rd minute when it was their centre-back Kolo Toure who rolled the ball into the middle, only for Walcott to miss the target from close range.

By that juncture, any flaw was regarded as endearing. Walcott himself provided the set-up in the 58th minute and this time it was Samir Nasri who could not convert it. There was indignity for Ferreira. His Porto side may very well go through to the knockout stage, but his team hardly seemed to belong in Arsenal's company.

There was little they could do except hope their opponents' interest would flag. They would have been gladdened Wenger made a couple of substitutions, but the tempo of the game was not broken immediately. Within seconds, Helton was parrying a Fabregas effort and Adebayor might have converted the rebound.

The forward did slot in the fourth from the penalty spot in the 71st minute after a frustrated Freddy Guarin fouled substitute Nicklas Bendtner.

By then, a game that could have presented some sort of challenge looked as if it had been laid on expressly to bolster Arsenal's confidence.

ARSENAL:Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Walcott (Vela 71), Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri (Eboue 64), Van Persie (Bendtner 64), Adebayor. Subs not used: Fabianski, Ramsey, Silvestre, Djourou. Booked: Clichy.

FC PORTO:Helton, Sapunaru, Bruno Alves, Rolando, Benitez, Guarin, Costa, Fernando (Lucho Gonzalez 46), Raul Meireles (Hulk 64), Rodriguez (Candeias 79), Lopez. Subs not used: Nuno, Pedro Emanuel, Stepanov, Lino. Booked: Costa.

Referee:Herbert Fandel (Germany).

Guardian Service