Cesc sparkles in Gunners romp

Arsenal enjoyed a dream start to the season as Cesc Fabregas ran the show in a 6-1 victory over Everton.

Toffees crushed in opening game of the season

Arsenal enjoyed a dream start to the new season as Cesc Fabregas ran the show in a brilliant 6-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. Fabregas pulled the strings in the Arsenal midfield to show just how to deal with speculation over a player's future as Manchester City target Joleon Lescott failed to hold Everton's defence together. The Gunners took the lead on 26 minutes through Denilson's sublime curling effort from the edge of the box and the visitors never looked back from that moment on. The lead was increased on 37 minutes when debutant Thomas Vermaelen ghosted in at the far post to head home a cross from Robin van Persie. And it was 3-0 before half-time as further slack defending from Everton allowed William Gallas time and space to glance Fabregas' free-kick inside the post. Fabregas got in on the act in the second half and scored the fourth goal three minutes after the restart as he slipped the ball past Tim Howard following a quick break. The Spaniard capped a virtuoso display with his team's fifth goal on 69 minutes when he ran unchecked from his own half and rifled a low shot beyond Howard's outstretched hand. With two minutes to go, Everton's misery was further compounded when Eduardo tapped in to an empty net after Andrey Arshavin's spinning shot came back off the post. There was some late cheer for the Toffees fans who had remained to the bitter end as Louis Saha slotted into an open goal after Manuel Almunia had rushed out to deny Steven Pienaar. Everton included Lescott despite the ongoing saga of Manchester City's attempts to sign him, which prompted manager David Moyes' angry outburst on Friday at the Eastlands club's tactics. Arsenal were without Theo Walcott (back), Abou Diaby (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Johan Djourou (knee), but their absences did not seem to matter as they systematically took Everton apart at the back. Moyes got a heroes' reception from the Goodison Park faithful, and Lescott's name was greeted with far more cheers than jeers from a sell-out crowd.

Fell apart

But Moyes then had to sit and watch as his usually reliable rearguard, admittedly missing the excellent Phil Jagielka, fell apart before his eyes. Arsenal were sharp from the start and their passing game was quickly on song. And when Phil Neville misplaced a ball in midfield, the Gunners flowed forward before Nicklas Bendtner drove a shot over the bar. Then Bendtner headed down for Van Persie to see his shot on the turn deflected wide by Lescott. Everton were having to work tremendously hard in midfield to contain the tempo of Arsenal's game and the Toffees barely created a chance in the opening half. The goal Arsenal had been threatening arrived after 26 minutes. Bendtner surged in from the left before flicking a pass to Fabregas, who instantly turned the ball into Denilson's path. The pace of the move left Everton floundering, and the fine strike from the Brazilian from just outside the area dipped and curled into the top corner. Everton's response was predictably furious and they had Arsenal hemmed into their box for a spell. Only a goal-line clearance from Denilson following Marouane Fellaini's header from a Leighton Baines corner stopped an equaliser. Arsenal, though, were cutting through Everton with movement and accurate passing, and after 37 minutes they were two ahead. Van Persie's free-kick from the right found Vermaelen beyond the far post, and the defender headed back into the bottom corner for a fine debut goal. Everton's marking for that was dreadful, with Fellaini and Joseph Yobo seemingly at fault. But four minutes later when Gallas headed home another free-kick, this time from Fabregas, the defending was even worse. The Frenchman had a free run into the six-yard box to guide his header home completely unmarked. Goalkeeper Howard appealed for cover as colleagues stood motionless.

Shell-shocked

Everton were shell-shocked, and it got worse three minutes after the interval. Everton were caught by a pitch-length move from Arsenal that ended with Fabregas cruising into the box to send his shot past Howard. Denilson had started the surge deep on the left and found Van Persie before a neat pass left the Arsenal skipper to do the rest. Moyes then made a triple substitution. Saha replaced Leon Osman, Dan Gosling came on for Tony Hibbert while Jack Rodwell took over from Jo. But Fabregas was not finished. After 69 minutes he collected a throw from Almunia and ran from inside his own half without facing a tackle to drive home the fifth. Their jobs done, Arsenal took off Fabregas and Van Persie, sending on Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo. With the ground emptying fast, and the Gunners' fans in full song, Everton just wanted this embarrassment to end as quickly as possible. But Eduardo still had time to score the sixth, netting from close in after Arshavin's shot had come back off a post with two minutes to go. Everton finally got onto the scoresheet in injury time when Saha netted after Pienaar's shot had been blocked.

Everton	Team Statistics	Arsenal
1	Goals	6
0	1st Half Goals	3
5	Shots on Target	9
4	Shots off Target	4
2	Blocked Shots	5
4	Corners	9
12	Fouls	14
6	Offsides	4
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
71.6	Passing Success	81.6
19	Tackles	20
84.2	Tackles Success	60
46.1	Possession	53.9
47.4	Territorial Advantage	52.6