Arsenal and Chelsea blitzed their opening Champions League opponents last night, flexing their muscles to dish out a punishing lesson.

Arsenal’s 6-0 thumping of Portugal’s Brazilian inspired Braga was a copybook display of Wenger-style football, orchestrated by Cesc Fabregas, while a weakened Chelsea lineup easily overpowered Slovakian outfit Zilana who were treated to a merciless introduction to the Champions League.

The performance of Fabregas at the Emriates will steal the headlines and comfort his early adopters amongst the Fantasy fraternity that he will more than justify his price outlay. The Spaniard came away with two goal and two assists – he could have had a hat-trick but for a shot cleared off the line and a pure case of unselfishness as he lay on a goal for Carlos Vela.

Fabregas has now scored five goals in his last four Emirates Champions League encounters. His strikes against Braga – a spot-kick after Marouane Chamakh was tripped and a rare headed effort from an Andrei Arshavin delivery – will be shown in the statistics, but it was his passing, his ability to knit Arsenal’s play to together, that truly epitomised the performance of Fabregas. Not surprisingly it inspired purring praise from Arsene Wenger after the whistle…

“He [Fabregas] has taken on another dimension. People forget that he is 23 years old, [an age] where other people start. He is a fantastic influence and it is important that he leads this team to winning and I believe it is a fantastic opportunity for the young players who play alongside him to improve as well.”

Jack Wilshere is surely benefiting from the Fabregas effect; he and the industrious Marouane Chamakh also stood out last night. Wilshere, strengthened by his lone spell at the Reebok last season never looked out of place alongside the proven Champions League prowess of his skipper and he continues to push his claim for an increased Premier League role. Chamakh meanwhile is beginning to display how his abilities outshine the options presented by Nicklas Bendtner. Similar in stature, Chamakh’s ability to retain the ball and lead the line were on full show last night as was his finishing skills for the third goal. Wenger was full of praise for the Moroccan in his post-match comments..

“He’s a midfielder and a striker. He passes the ball, moves a lot, works defensively, is a striker in the box and is good in the air. He works very hard for the team so it’s enjoyable for the midfielders to play with him.”

There were few surprises in Wenger’s lineup, a teamsheet hampered by injuries across the squad. Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy were predictably recalled at full-back, while Samir Nasri was also drafted back into midfield to fill the gap left by the injury to Abou Diaby. Wenger will go into the weekend trip to the Stadium of Light hoping that Thomas Vermaelen can recover from his current Achilles problems to be restored amongst last night’s all-French back four. Diaby seems unlikely to return in midfield, with Wenger remaining vague on the length of his absence…

“We have to wait to see how he responds to that shock. There’s a bruise and some ligaments [damage]. We don’t know when he’ll play again at the moment.”

Despite his performance, the slight frame of Wilshere is unlikely to be risked against Sunderland with the similarly lightweight Arshavin and Nasri looking more likely starters; either Emmanuel Eboue or Thomas Rosicky could come in but there’s no doubt that Diaby’s muscle would be missed against Steve Bruce’s men.

Sunderland will provide far sterner opposition to the Gunners and while Fabregas owners will be looking for their player to show his Braga form, the records show a 1-0 defeat last season and only two goals in the last three trips to the Stadium of Light for Wenger’s side. I’m not predicting a riot.

Chelsea also found themselves in cruise control in Slovakia, easily overcoming Zilana by a 4-1 margin.

Carlo Ancelotti recalled Alex to his defence, shifting Branislav Ivanovic to right-back. Yuri Zhikov made a rare start at left-back with Ashley Cole resting back home. John Terry returned from a recent rib problem to skipper the side. Further forward Yossi Benayoun was also given a run-out and staked his claim for further involvement with a typically silky performance capped by a pair of assists. His performance didn’t go unnoticed by Ancelotti…

“Yossi also did very well, he took up the right positions on the pitch, he took the opportunities to play in the strikers and he had a good interpretation of that position. He is an important player for us.”

It was Benayoun’s pass that fed Nicolas Anelka who in turn laid it on a plate for Michael Essien to record his third goal in two games for Chelsea’s opener. Anelka, leading the attack impressively in the absence of the suspended Didier Drogba, then notched the second from an assist from the recalled Florent Malouda and fired home a third after Terry’s header had struck the bar. Daniel Sturridge, deployed on the right flank – raced away to convert the fourth from another searching Benayoun pass.

There will be wholesale changes to the Chelsea lineup for the home clash with Blackpool. Ancelotti is unlikely to take the Seasiders status for granted and will surely recall Drogba to his attack, with Frank Lampard also hoping to be involved despite being sidelined for last night’s tie after his recent hernia operation.

The presence of Paulo Ferreira and Salomon Kalou as unused subs last night are a key concern for owners of Ivanovic/Alex and of course Malouda. Having established himself as a leading contender for the top ranking Fantasy midfielder, Malouda now finds himself under threat for a starting role on a weekly basis with Champions League football freshly introduced to Chelsea’s fixture programme.

Chelsea next face Marseille in a fortnight but with a Carling Cup tie with Newcastle and a Premier League trip to Man City preceding that game, Ancelotti will be mindful of juggling his squad to keep them fresh. The Chelsea teamsheets require careful monitoring right now – only Drogba, currently suspended from Champions League action, appears to be certain of Premier League starts.