London (3/9) - Arsenal is through to the quarter-finals of Champions League with a 6-2 aggregate win over Portuguese side Porto.
After the 2-1 defeat in the first leg, the Gunners stung their opponents at home 5-0. They took the advantage of the returns of their primary goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and their creative playmaker Andrei Arshavin, who had been injured in the first leg.
Although captain Cesc Fabregas was absent due to hamstring injury, it did not cause the Arsenal players to diminish their attacking missiles.
Bendtner started the Arsenal domination when he scored the opening goal just 10 minutes into the match. Just about fifteen minutes later, Andrei Arshavin weaved a route past three defenders before passing the ball to the unguarded Bendtner to add a second goal.
In the 63rd minute, Abou Diaby tapped a pass to Samir Nasri on the right. The 22-year-old Frenchman was faced with three defenders; however, he found a path before planting a low drive into the net.
Three minutes later, again Arshavin won the ball at midfield, sprinted at an undermanned visiting defense, and slid it to Emmanuel Eboue, who tricked Helton and struck home a fourth goal for Arsenal.
His work done, Arshavin was replaced by Theo Walcott in the 76th minute.
In injury time, Jorge Fucile felled Eboue in the penalty area. Bendtner took the kick and completed the match with his first hat-trick of the season. He won the honors of the night by grabbing three goals to his credit.
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