Key Incidents:
Goal (Arsenal) (4) - Just what we needed early on. The nerves were removed, and we just kept on moving forward. A sweet ball from Bobby set Reyes up with a chance to run. The speradic Rosenborg defence split and slipped about allowing Jose to cut through them and send a low drive past Johnsen.
Goal (Arsenal) (24) - Errors from the Noggies all around. A bad ball in midfield allowed Flamini to get a toe on the ball and scoop it forward. Henry gave chase, and easily outpaced Hansen leaving him with plenty of time to lift the ball over the keeper, who had started coming far too late to do anything about it.
Goal (Arsenal) (28) - What a goal! A slick passing build up led to Bobby being left alone in the box. He chipped the ball to Fabregas just outside the six yard box, who went on to lob one defender and take a well executed strike to put us in cruise control. A better goal than it first appeared, as the ball bounced up quite high, but he still managed to stick the ball in the corner.
Goal (Rosenborg) (38) - A dent in Almunia`s performance. A quick free kick was driven in; Almunia came for it, and didn't quite get there. He only managed to get a weak hand on the ball which diverted it into the path of Hoftun, who hooked the ball back in from a tight angle.
Goal (Arsenal) (41) - A dubious penalty in truth, as Henry made sure that he made contact with the keeper, but the ref saw enough contact to point to the spot. With Henry winning the penalty, the responsibility fell to Pires, who slammed the ball into the bottom right hand corner.
Goal (Arsenal) (84) - Having stuck two chances wide, Van Persie made things up with a cool chipped finish late on. Flowing passing and a neat final ball left him with the simplest of chances.
Player Ratings
Manuel Almunia - 6 - Looked a little weak on the crosses, but eventually came through, punching the ball to clear. Made one truly world class save, which will have boosted his confidence, and I would be more than happy to see him start against Chelsea.
Ashley Cole - 7 - Typical Ash. Never stopped running, and kept the Rosenborg attack at bay for the most part.
Kolo Toure - 7 - Strong in the tackle, a strong head, and a series of strong clearances. Dealt with everything and everyone very cooly. Looks so much more assured with Sol beside him.
Sol Campbell - 8 - A superb display - full of energy and lead the defence like we know he can. Makes the defence far stronger. Just the fact that he is playing seems to lift the back four.
Justin Hoyte - 7 - A very impressive display. Didn't look out of place in this side of internationals. Covered his ground, chained his man, and burst forward whenever possibly. The mirror of Ash.
Jose Reyes - 7 - What a time to get the goal that boosts your confidence through the roof! With his first chance of the game he put the ball away and never looked back. Suddenly the little flicks, the sly turns were all coming off, and you just couldn't stop him. That cheeky grin has returned to his face, and we all know that that spells danger for any opposition. A welcome return to form.
Mathieu Flamini - 7 - Arsene Wenger wasn't wrong (is he ever?) when he said that Flamini is the most energetic player in the squad !! Never stopped moving and was always looking for the simple ball to play. No frills and no nonsense, but did exactly what was required of him in the "Gilberto" role, as Cesc moved forward. Assured as any player I have seen, and looks to have been a very useful (and free!) signing.
Cesc Fabregas - 8.5 - MOTM. Cool, calm, and confidence. Can you ask much more of a 17 year old? Dominated the midfield. As normal, he spread the play the length of the pitch, and his vision for the game still seems to be improving. Passing was crisp and he didn't let us down all night. Took his goal superbly well, taking into account some of the efforts we have seen from him this season.
Robert Pires- 7 - Another stepping stone on his way to regain his form. Following on from his performance against Birmingham, he started here where he had left off. Fluent passing, linked the ball and even managed to win a 50/50 for crying out loud. That alone is worth a 7!!
Thierry Henry - 8 - Led the attack by example. Took on the Rosenborg defence on single handedly at times, and his passing was accurate throughout. Another big display, and lets hope we see another in Sundays big game.
Dennis Bergkamp - 7 - Linked the play as always. Stepped back, took in what was going on around him, and then played some awesome balls across the park. Tricks and flicks came off all night.
Subs:
Gael Clichy - 7 - Adapted well to his positional change from left midfield to left back. Showed off his technical ability and pace down the left.
Robin Van Persie - 7 - A super sub if ever there was one. Had 3 good chances, set up 3 other chances and scored a goal all in the fifteen minutes he was given. Would tip him to start against either Fulham or Newcastle, with the Christmas fixtures piling up.
Quincy - N/A - Only on for two minutes, so impossible to give a true rating for him.