Fabregas celebrates his second at the Emirates as Arsenal run riot against AZ

By Sam Lyon

Cesc Fabregas scored a brace as Arsenal cruised to victory over AZ Alkmaar to all but secure their qualification from the Champions League group stages.

The Spaniard kick-started an impressive home win with a low shot that crept in from 20 yards and Samir Nasri made it two after a typically flowing move.

Fabregas's second came from Andrey Arshavin's through-ball, and Abou Diaby finished off a counter-attack for 4-0.

Jeremain Lens fired a late consolation, but Arsenal rarely looked troubled.

The victory puts Arsenal on 10 points, a tally which will only see them fail to progress into the next stage of the competition if they lose their final two games coupled with an unlikely combination of results for Olympiakos and Standard Liege.

But that seems a distant possibility if another dominant victory at the Emirates Stadium is anything to go by - a win which makes it 10 out of 10, with 33 goals scored, at home for Arsenal this term.

The hosts controlled possession and the tempo of the game from the first minute, Diaby and Fabregas in particular pulling the strings in midfield and Arshavin and Robin van Persie always a threat up front.

That quartet linked up for the first chance of the match, a sweeping move that ended with Van Persie flashing inches wide in the third minute, and after keeper Sergio Romero had handled a back-pass, the same player slammed another shot straight at the goal-line wall.

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Fabregas finally broke the deadlock on 25 minutes when his low 20-yard shot crept in Romero's near post.

And, unlike in the reverse fixture a fortnight ago when AZ punished the Gunners' profiligacy by snatching a barely-deserved draw with a 93rd-minute strike, Arsenal rarely looked like surrendering their advantage.

Nasri, in only his second start since breaking his leg in July, doubled the lead just before the break, latching on to Arshavin's through-ball, turning inside the defender, and slipping into the corner with calm precision.

It was no more than the hosts deserved, having restricted last season's Dutch champions to just one shot on target all half - a tame Maarten Martens effort that was easily held by Manuel Almunia.

The visitors were not helped by the absence of top scorer Mounir El Hamdaoui because of a muscle injury, though his replacement Graziano Pelle did prove AZ's biggest threat in front of goal, not least when he forced a fine point-blank save from Almunia, the Spaniard pushing his volley on to the bar.

That came after Arsenal's third, though, Fabregas side-footing into the roof of the net from Arshavin's through-ball, and marked only a brief foray into the opposition half from the disappointing Dutch side.

And soon it was four, Eduardo and Arshavin combining well on the counter attack to set up Diaby, who side-footed home from close range with aplomb.

There was still time for Lens to at least give the small army of travelling fans something to smile about, the substitute running on to Brett Holman's flick to run clear and stab past Almunia.

But it was a minor blot on an otherwise near-perfect night for Arsene Wenger's side, who also saw Tomas Rosicky get a run out as he continues his recovery from a knee problem.

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