Arsenal Beat Ragged Juventus
Arsenal produced a scintillating performance to take a commanding lead after the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Juventus.
Cesc Fabregas put Arsenal ahead with a low strike from 20 yards and later passed for Thierry Henry to convert into an empty net from 12 yards out.
Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon made good second-half saves from Henry, Fabregas and Alexander Hleb.
As Juventus imploded both Mauro Camoranesi and Jonathan Zebina were sent off late in the match.
Juventus might be 8 points clear at the top of Serie A but they were a ragged mess by the end of the match.
They had heavy legs and bowed heads after being blown away by an Arsenal side that played with verve and invention.
It was a difficult return to Highbury for Patrick Vierra, who recieved a warm reception but then picked up a second half booking that means he , along Camoranesi and Zebina, will miss the return leg.
“I believe we will finish the job in the second leg in Italy but there is still a lot to come,” said Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground and keep our football simple.”
Vieira’s replacement, Cesc Fabregas had a superb game but Wenger added: “It wasn’t my target tonight to justify selling Patrick.”
“He is a tremendous player and you never lose a player like that without suffering a lot.”
“But another team was born and is growing slowly. Football is like that.”
“The win against Real Madrid may have helped us but football is fragile. You have to be cautious. One unexpected defeat and you are back again.”
