Arsenal 5-0 FC Porto (Arsenal win 6-2 on aggregate)

Yet despite achieving this feat, Nicklas Bendtner left the pitch with his figure intact, European competition rules requiring the referee's permission to be sought - a chore unlikely to faze the famously confident Dane.

Bendtner's lofty opinion of himself will surely have been challenged over the past few days after he was heavily criticised by fans and the media following his horror show in front of goal against Premier League strugglers Burnley.

Although unable to find the net on Saturday, Bendtner's work rate and positional sense could not be faulted and to his great credit, he carried these qualities forward against Porto, supplementing them with a final product.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, whose belief in the 22-year-old has never wavered, was pleased with Bendtner's display, saying: "How quickly football changes.

"I hope that will not give him too much confidence, but I am happy for him.

"He had a good game on Saturday but missed plenty of chances and three days later he has less chances and scores three goals," said Wenger.

Trailing 2-1 following the farcical defeat in Portugal a fortnight ago, Arsenal tore into their visitors from the outset and it took just 10 minutes for the Gunners to swing the tie in their favour.

Andrey Arshavin, starting his first game since returning from injury, produced a vintage performance and it was his persistence that put the Gunners ahead.

The vertically challenged forward crept back from an offside position to win a header, accepting a return pass from Samir Nasri, before powering into the area.

His run was halted by an excellent last-ditch challenge, only for Bendtner to show greater hunger than his opponents as he stretched to stab the loose ball home.

This was the first time that the Gunners had scored in the opening 15 minutes of a home fixture this season and it wasn't long before they had doubled their advantage.

Arshavin was again the creative catalyst, skipping beyond the Porto backline to square for Bendtner, leaving the striker with the simple task of tapping in.

Arsenal began the second-half lethargically and were fortunate that Falcao could only shoot straight at goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, while Nasri cleared a Rodriguez header off the line.

Just as Arsenal looked to be rocking, Nasri came up with a piece of individual brilliance, scoring a goal that will live long in the memory.

Faced with a gaggle of Porto defenders on the right side of the area, the Frenchman twisted one way and then the other to wriggle his way free before blasting the ball expertly across goalkeeper Helton into the far corner.

With inspirational captain Cesc Fabregas missing the game through injury, Nasri was given a central role and produced an eye-catching performance that suggested that he could fill the Spaniard's boots, should Fabregas decide to return to his homeland in the near future.

The Gunners furthered their advantage in the 66th minute, Arshavin breaking from deep inside his own half to feed substitute Emmanuel Eboue, whose elaborate body swerve left Helton floored, before he rolled the ball in.

Bendtner completed the rout from the penalty spot in stoppage time, after Eboue had been bundled over.

Wenger was understandably in a bullish mood following the win and looked forward to potentially facing familiar foes in the quarter-finals, saying: "I have a funny feeling, maybe it's good for us to play an English team.

"We have not done well against Chelsea and not done well against Man Utd this year and it would be a good opportunity to show that we can do it against them."