Gunners rout Porto to advance

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner atoned for a poor performance over the weekend by scoring a hat trick in a 5-0 win over FC Porto for the Gunners to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Arsenal overturned a 2-1 deficit from the first leg last month to advance 6-2 on aggregate. Porto has now lost its last seven matches in London and this was the Portuguese side's heaviest Champions League defeat.

"Overall, I believe over 90 minutes we controlled 80," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "For the 10 we didn't control, we suffered in my opinion a bit too much because they had one or two chances at the beginning of the second half. But overall we controlled the game and scored great goals, and we were good to watch."

Bendtner scored his first in the 10th minute after Samir Nasri split the defense with a through ball to Andrei Arshavin. Porto defender Jorge Fucile's last-ditch tackle provoked a collision with Arshavin and goalkeeper Helton, and the ball fell to Bendtner who slid in to poke it into an empty net.

The Denmark international scored again in the 25th when Fucile gave the ball away on the left to Arshavin when trying to clear. Fucile came in with a tackle, but Arshavin beat him and two other defenders into the area. The Russia international crossed to Bendtner who tapped in from close range.

Bendtner completed his hat trick in the dying moments of the match after Emmanuel Eboue was bundled over in the area by Fucile and the referee awarded a penalty. Bendtner stepped up and blasted it past Helton.

Bendtner became a talking point after he missed numerous glaring chances in front of goal Saturday in a 3-1 victory over Burnley in the Premier League. Wenger said before the match he hoped Bendtner was saving his goals for the Porto match.

Wenger said after the match that Bendtner was lucky to get his hat trick because he was No. 3 in line to take penalties behind Nasri and Arshavin, but both of them had been substituted.

Wenger was pleased with how Bendtner bounced back from his performance Saturday.

"It shows you he didn't lose his confidence," Wenger said. "He came back tonight with a good focus, with the same belief. It's one of his strengths. The confidence level remains relatively stable. He has the size and presence we need. We're usually a very short team."

Nasri and Eboue scored within three minutes of each other in the second half. Nasri weaved through three Porto defenders into the right side box and brought the ball toward the byline before banging it in off the far post into the net in the 63rd. Eboue scored on a counterattack after Arshavin won an aerial duel and drew three defenders before passing off to the Ivory Coast international, who slotted home.

Apart from an early attack by Porto when veteran Arsenal defender Sol Campbell had to make a diving headed clearance in the first minute and a few corners, the visitors rarely threatened in the first half.

Campbell, who scored Arsenal's goal in Portugal on Feb. 17, recovered from a groin problem to start. He replaced central defender William Gallas, who has been sidelined for about a month with a calf injury.

Arsenal applied pressure throughout the first half and could have scored a couple more. The Gunners stuttered defensively in the second half and Porto nearly scored in the 61st minute, but Rolando's effort was cleared off the line by Nasri.

Porto manager Jesualdo Ferreira called the match a "fast movie."

"Arsenal put us under pressure and scored an early goal," Ferreira said. "In the second half, it was exactly the same. They controlled the match. ... I don't think we used the moments we got. Arsenal did. They were lucky with that."

He said he believes Arsenal can go on to win the tournament.

"Arsenal is a team that scored the most goals in the first phase of the competition," Ferreira said. "It's a team with great players."

Arsenal had to cope without injured captain Cesc Fabregas, who was ruled out after limping out of match against Burnley on Saturday with a recurrence of a hamstring injury.

The Spain midfielder has scored and set up more goals than any other Arsenal player this season, so his absence was a concern going into the match.