Gunners coast to easy win
Date: 28-03-2006 21:37
Arsenal stepped up the pressure on London rivals Tottenham in the race for a Champions League place with a 3-0 demolition of Charlton at Highbury.
Robert Pires scored from close range following a fine, flowing move after 13 minutes, with Emmanuel Adebayor knocking in a second before the break after a blunder by Charlton defender Hermann Hreidarsson.
Alexander Hleb added a third five minutes into the second half as the Gunners recorded three successive Premiership wins at a canter.
Arsenal went ahead when Hleb won the ball from Jerome Thomas and sped away down the right. He fed Thierry Henry, who in turn picked out Adebayor on the edge of the box. A quick one-two released the Gunners captain down the left side and he surged to the goal-line and cut a pass back to Pires, who scored.
On 20 minutes Henry's sweeping centre from the right found Adebayor at the far post and his towering, downward header was only just wide.
It was 2-0 on 32 minutes. Henry's through-ball should have been cut out easily by Hermann Hreidarsson 15 yards from goal. However, the Icelander's terrible control allowed it to squirm away to the waiting Adebayor, who slid in to hook the ball past Myhre.
With two minutes to go to half-time, Cesc Fabregas' deflected effort was well held by Myhre.
Arsenal were in the ascendancy following the restart and, after 49 minutes, were 3-0 ahead. Hleb surged to the edge of the area and shot, Hreidarsson making a brave block. Jonathan Spector threw himself in the path of Adebayor's strike from the rebound, only for Hleb to lash the loose ball home.
Pires had a low strike deflected wide by Hreidarsson, before, with 20 minutes left, substitute Dennis Bergkamp flashed an angled drive over the bar.
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