Saturday, May 2, 2009

Arsenal 3-0 Portsmouth, Young Guns Silence Struggling Portsmouth

Arsenal secured their 4th place birth (and Champions League qualifying) with a comfortable win today over Portsmouth. Wenger's "Young Guns" got the job done in style as the North London club fielded what was primarily their reserve team, with a few exceptions. Nicklas Bentner scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season. The first of these, a decent shot in the 13th minute, was perhaps more the result of Portsmouth's keeper than the Danish striker himself. Bentner would score again from the penalty spot in the 40th. Portsmouth showed some spirit, managing a few challenges, but the gulf in class was obvious from the start. Carlos Vela closed the tie with his goal in the 56th minute. It seemed that whenever Portsmouth began to get an attack in order, the Gunners would counterattack in costly fashion. Good game, predictable result, now on to more important matters...Manchester United and the Champions League Semi-final.