Arsenal set new mark

Arsenal 3 Blackburn Rovers 0 Arsenal could be teased but not thwarted. With goals that were delayed until the second half, they ensured their 43rd League match without defeat, breaking the English record set by Nottingham Forest 26 years ago.

Attention-grabbing statistics do affect a team. Frank Clark, the Forest left back of the 1970s, feels that his side grew prone to draws as the mere avoidance of defeat loomed too large in their thoughts. Arsenal have gone in a different direction entirely. They want to make every fixture an occasion.

No one would deplore that inclination, but Arsenal were just a little too loose in the first half here, as if they expected themselves to astonish the crowd at any second. The sort of standards being set by Arsene Wenger's men could be judged by the way in which Thierry Henry ran straight across the pitch, wrenched himself round for a 20-yard shot that forced a save from Brad Friedel and then slapped his own hip as a reprimand for not beating the goalkeeper.

Having scored nine times over their two previous Premiership fixtures this month, Arsenal were too breezy to be exact. There were flourishes, but no lethal intent. They had just one clean chance before the interval, when, in the 38th minute, Pennant crossed, Dennis Bergkamp dummied and Cesc Fabregas, at last acting like the callow 17-year-old he is, skewed his shot wide.

It was enough to make you cast your mind back to the days when an Arsenal loss in the Premiership would not have passed for an overturning of the natural order. Two seasons ago, Graeme Souness's team did the double over them in the league and could have awakened memories of that early on last night.

In the 19th minute, Jens Lehmann had to impress by getting down low to his left and parrying the Craig Short half-volley. There was a restless enterprise to Blackburn, with Paul Dickov, for example, wriggling to shoot from an angle and test Lehmann again after 32 minutes.

Arsenal did not have the grip on midfield to forestall such incidents. The match was open, with play stretched as both teams sought to attack and left plenty of channels open in the process. It was peculiar, in the circumstances, that goals were so elusive.

Even so, the innate talent of this Arsenal side is likely to erupt into life sooner or later. It did so in the 50th minute, with one of those rapid, sure-footed combinations that never lets the opposition get into position to cover. Fabregas picked out Bergkamp on the right and his low, curling cross saw Henry darting between Lucas Neill and Craig Short to fire home first time.

The gala occasion was under way. In case the visitors had not realised, Arsenal drew their attention to the fact with another goal eight minutes later. Henry delivered a corner and Silva Gilberto met it with a header that clipped Fabregas on its way into the net.

The teenager had become the youngest scorer in Arsenal's history with a goal in the League Cup last season and if the Spaniard's precocity includes brashness he may try to claim Gilberto's effort as his first in the Premiership.

Arsenal knew they had put themselves into the record books and back to the top of the table. That latter target could well be seen by this squad as the more important of the two they met last night, much as they will chuckle at the thought of the third against Blackburn in the 80th minute when Henry, having been foiled by Friedel, rolled the rebound to the substitute Jose Antonio Reyes for a simple finish.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Cygan, Cole, Pennant (Ljungberg 77), Silva, Fabregas Soler (Flamini 86), Pires, Bergkamp (Reyes 77), Henry. Subs Not Used: Hoyte, Almunia. Booked: Henry, Fabregas Soler. Goals: Henry 50, Silva 58, Reyes 79.

BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Short, Gray, Gresko, Emerton, Tugay (De Pedro 77), Johansson, Matteo, Dickov, Stead (Yorke 63). Subs Not Used: Amoruso, Flitcroft, Enckelman. Booked: Emerton, Neill, Short, Matteo.

Referee: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).