Key Incidents:
Goal (Arsenal) (8) – Dennis made this look ridiculously easy! As he ate up the open ground in front of him, he slid a perfect ball through right into the path of Van Persie who duly obliged with a neat finish.
Goal (Arsenal) (12) – Another delightful Bergkamp through ball found Jose in plenty of space down the left. He drilled the cross in, and it came out to Bobby, who hit a drive straight at the keeper. Fortunately for him it bounced back into his path allowing him to nod the ball home.
Goal (Arsenal) (37) – This was amazing to watch. The quick one touch passing left me stunned. The move culminated with Bergkamp sending Vieira clean through, who then lobbed Wright to make it three. We made it look so easy!
Goal (Arsenal) (50) – After a touch from Tel had hit a defender, the ball fell to Pires who swept the ball home for his second, from just inside the area.
Goal (Arsenal) (70) – Did anyone really want to take this penalty? After it was awarded for handball, the ball seemed to pass through the hands of many players before eventually being placed on the spot by Edu. He put the ball low into the bottom right hand corner.
Goal (Arsenal) (77) – This is what we had all been desperate to see. Bergkamp showed of his amazing first touch by bringing a high ball down on his knee just inside the Everton box. He then turned and put the ball under the keeper with his left foot.
Goal (Arsenal) (85) – Flamini got his first goal for the club with a half volley after Reyes had cut the ball back to him just inside the area.
Man Of The Match – Dennis Bergkamp
Player Ratings
Jens Lehmann - 7 - Had very little to do all night – which is to be expected during a 7-0 home win!
Ashley Cole - 7 - Back to his best (recent) form. He played almost as a left midfield player, as he had so little to do defensively.
Sol Campbell - 7 - Good to see him back in the team. He seemed to play well alongside Senderos, although this game can hardly be a true test for that partnership!
Philippe Senderos - 8 - Normal service is resumed – another game another clean sheet. Enough said really, strong in all departments.
Lauren - 7 - An average performance, where he got into a few promising positions.
Jose Reyes - 7 - He was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Amazingly, when he played with Tel in this game the pair seemed more than happy to pass to each other, and not once did Tel shrug at him. Things are looking up!
Patrick Vieira - 7 - He spread the play well, and was only taken off at half time to give him a rest before the cup final.
Edu - 7 - It appears I was a little premature when I declared that we had probably seen him score his last goal for Arsenal at West Brom! He had a good last game, and the crowd gave him a decent send off.
Robert Pires - 7 - So much for the season ending injury then! Two goals and a great performance with plenty of good movement and passing.
Dennis Bergkamp - 9 - Surely, surely, he should get another year. He rolled back the clock with this display, getting a goal, and being involved in nearly all the build up play that led to our other goals. The Highbury faithful certainly made themselves clear, with his name being sung repeatedly for the last ten minutes of both halves. He admitted to having been “deeply moved” by the crowds reaction, and also says he wants to say. With Arsene being quoted as saying that he has made up his mind one way of the other, only time will tell.
Robin Van Persie - 7 - Got on the score sheet and worked hard throughout.
Subs:
Thierry Henry - 7 - Is he ready for the cup final? You bet he is! He played as if he had never been away. He looked sharp and fully fit, which leads me to believe that there were a few mind games behind those “30/70” for the cup final comments.
Mathieu Flamini - 7 - Filled the boots of Vieira well.
Cesc Fabregas - 7 - Slotted straight into right midfield and looked comfortable there.