Arsenal - 4 Portsmouth - 0: Harry Redknapp has complained he is having difficulty communicating with a few of his foreign players but this was a crushing defeat for Portsmouth in any language.
Portsmouth were unable to cope before the interval with the thrust of Thierry Henry and Jose Antonio Reyes or the cleverness of Dennis Bergkamp.
The midfield allowed Arsenal too much room to play and the defence looked disorganised. They survived further punishment because Arsenal took their foot off the gas.
This contest looked over inside a quarter of an hour as Arsenal scored twice, and any doubt was removed when Henry struck two more before half-time.
Reyes was a menace, setting up the opener, scoring the second and finally winning the penalty which made it 4-0.
Bergkamp struck the first goal - his first in the Premiership this season - after Reyes had burst past Andy Griffin on the left and crossed. And it was notable early on that the Dutchman dashed to block a clearance and covered good ground to make a tackle on Richard Hughes.
Mathieu Flamini , who has generally looked below Arsenal standards, showed he possesses both qualities as he gave a strong performance.
He played a part in the opening goal by beating Aliou Cisse to the ball in midfield and it was his perfect pass which released Henry to score number three. The striker, too quick for Portsmouth, rounded Jamie Ashdown to finish.
In between Henry had latched on to a long pass by Kolo Toure as Andy O'Brien and Brian Priske were caught out, and left O'Brien on the turf before setting up Reyes to fire in unstoppably. It was hardly a surprise Henry played a part in the build-up to the penalty. He picked out Robert Pires, and Reyes was pushed by Griffin as he tried to get on to the resultant cross, allowing Henry to chip in the spot-kick.
The few moments of danger Portsmouth caused came from Lomana LuaLua.
LuaLua curled a shot against the bar and Portsmouth did improve after the break but they might have fallen further behind when Ashdown saved a Bergkamp shot.
Guardian Service
ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Cygan, Pires, Flamini, Silva (Fabregas 72), Reyes (Eboue 67), Bergkamp, Henry. Subs Not Used: Ljungberg, Senderos, Almunia. Goals: Bergkamp 7, Reyes 13, Henry 37, 43 pen.
PORTSMOUTH: Ashdown, Griffin, O'Brien, Priske, Vignal, Cisse, Vukic (Todorov 45), Viafara, Hughes (Skopelitis 90), Taylor, LuaLua (Mornar 83). Subs Not Used: Westerveld, Karadas. Booked: Hughes.
Referee: M Clattenburg (Co Durham).
