Portsmouth...1 Arsenal...5: Graceful Arsenal can make their victims feel privileged. Portsmouth are Premiership strugglers in the midst of an injury crisis and two or three other clubs might have run up this score against them, but Arsenal are alone in their capacity to make a drubbing ring out like a hymn to the marvel of football.

The voices were in harmony. "It's not a game to hate the opposition," said Portsmouth's manager Harry Redknapp. "It's a game we all love."

The fraternity was recognised when the Fratton Park crowd greeted the substitutions of Thierry Henry and the captain Patrick Vieira not with relief but with a standing ovation. It was reminiscent of the magnanimous applause from the Old Trafford stands for Ronaldo when his hat-trick for Real Madrid pitched Manchester United out of the Champions League last season. There are rare moments when the need to rejoice overwhelms concern with the result.

The power of delight animates Arsenal players bewitched by the feats they can concoct together.

"When you play a game like that, you want to keep playing because we love that feeling," said Vieira. After the arrest of the three Leicester players, his manager Arsene Wenger also perceived a wider benefit: "There are positive headlines for football, and that's good news."

There were occasions in the second half when Arsenal were so free of self-consciousness that Henry unthinkingly stroked an inch-perfect pass across the breadth of the pitch with his wrong foot. Detractors will snort that Portsmouth are no measure of greatness, but Wenger's men have won by the same margin against Internazionale at the San Siro this season.

Three clubs have broken away from the rest in the Premiership and Arsenal look to be the elite of that elite. Redknapp was happy with the conclusion that they are the best team in the world at present. In the euphoria, there was a temptation to pick out a place in history for them as well and the popular comparison on Saturday was with the magnificently fluid Ajax of the early '70s.

Arsenal echoed the Ajax philosophy as players swapped position and kept changing the point of attack before the mesmerised eyes of the opposition. Portsmouth plugged away and, at the last, even scored with a volley from Teddy Sheringham.

Arsenal are getting better as certain players climb the hierarchy of the squad. Jose Antonio Reyes, who lashed a drive against the crossbar in the second minute after a cross by Ashley Cole and a flick by Freddie Ljungberg, looked tougher and more decisive because he has begun to settle at his new club. Edu is ditching his reputation as a utility player and he was as great a worry to Portsmouth as Vieira himself. His measured pass inside Petri Pasanen for Ljungberg to score the second goal in the 43rd minute signalled the start of the spree and Kolo Toure drove home at a corner before the interval had been reached.

Pasanen had blocked the ball into the path of Henry for the opener after 25 minutes. The Frenchman would later steer a 20-yard shot into the net before Ljungberg also bagged a second goal, aided by a deflection off Linvoy Primus.

Arsenal's league record is untainted by defeat, they are homing in on a third consecutive FA Cup and there should, at last, be a genuine attempt on the Champions League. "Everyone's played them, no one's beaten them," Redknapp said. "No one's got a magic formula."

The stardust is all Arsenal's.

Guardian Service