Fenerbahce 2-5 Arsenal: Cesc Fabregas gives Champions League masterclass

Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott scored within the space of a minute to put Arsenal in charge after only 11 minutes.

That silenced the home fans last night even though Mikael Silvestre's own goal pulled one back for Fenerbahce.

But Abou Diaby and Alex Song put Arsenal firmly in control and on course for another victory which gives them one foot in the knock out stages.

Spanish striker Dani Guiza pulled another one back for the Turkish side but Arsenal held out for a precious victory.

It was also sweet revenge for Cesc Fabregas, often a reserve in Spain's Euro 2008 campaign, who enjoyed a victory over Fenerbahce's ex-Spain boss Luis Aragones.

Match Report

Cesc Fabregas last night proved his point to Luis Aragones with a midfield masterclass which showed he is not just one of the best in Europe but the whole world.

Fabregas was distinctly second choice in Aragones's midfield line-up when Fenerbahce's veteran coach led Spain to glory in Euro 2008 last summer before moving to Turkey.

But on a breathtaking night in Istanbul, Fabregas had the last laugh as the Gunners midfielder was the architect of Arsenal's sensational and stunning victory over a Fenerbahce team who had not lost in 15 previous home games.

Fabregas was a man on a mission as he seemed to have the ball on a string at times last night as his vision and range of passing was magnificent and he set up three of Arsenal's four goals in a breathtakingly brilliant win.

The Spanish midfielder was simply unstoppable as he destroyed Fenerbahce which will only add more pounds to his ever increasing value on the transfer market.

Arsene Wenger will face a struggle to keep him at Arsenal next summer because, on the basis of performances like last night, Europe's super powers Real Madrid and Barcelona will mark him down as next year's must-have midfielder.

At just 21, Fabregas shows maturity beyond his tender years and, while 70-year-old Aragones led Spain to the Euro 2008 title, the Fenerbahce boss will not want to get on the wrong side of him again.

It must have been painful for Aragones and the Fenerbahce faithful and yet it was amazing entertainment for the rest of us as you could not take your eyes off it for a second.

Both defences - including Arsenal's patched-up back four - looked so wide open and vulnerable that the scoreline could have easily hit double figures with chances aplenty at either end.

Whoever said that Champions League Group stage matches were dull can never have seen a game like last night as it included one crazy spell of four goals in 11 minutes during the first half.

For sheer entertainment you could not beat it even if it would have been enough to give Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen nightmares about the kamikaze defending.

It is also very rare that any team comes to the 52,000 capacity Sukru Saracoglu and silences the fanatical home fans and yet last night will go down as one of Arsenal's best away performances in the Champions League.

And it was all down to Fabregas who, from the tenth minute onwards, was majestic and unstoppable with his superb passing. First, Fabregas's amazing vision allowed him to release Emmanuel Adebayor with a stunning pass from almost the halfway line and the Togo striker raced through before coolly slotting past Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demirel.

A minute later, Fabregas worked his magic again, this time his clever pass releasing Theo Walcott and the England winger slipped into turbo mode before rounding Demirel and then squeezing a shot inside the post.

The atmosphere in the stadium had been defeaning and yet Arsenal's stunning double silenced the fans - but that was just the start of the drama.

Fenerbahce midfielder Ugur Boral's free kick caused chaos in the Arsenal defence and Dani Guiza's presence pressured Mikael Silvestre to put through his own net in the 19th minute.

From then on, it was open season as both teams forgot about defending and went for the jugular. Arsenal struck again in the 21st minute when Abou Diaby, making his first start since April, raced through, held off Fenerbahce defender Edu and fired home.

It still showed no signs of slowing down after the restart as Arsenal scored their fourth after Samir Nasri was fouled and that man Fabregas floated in a free kick which three defenders took it in turns to miss and Alex Song rifled home.

Guiza grabbed a 78th minute consolation but Arsenal grabbed a fifth in the 94th minute as 17-year-old substitute Aaron Ramsey fired home with a 20 yard shot to ensure the score line was just as incredible as the victory.

Find out what our resident Premier League fan bloggers think - and let them know your views

Get your hands on this week's estimated jackpot of £100, 000 by playing the New Football Pools

Follow every Premier League game live with our brilliant Match Tracker