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Henry on target in Arsenal victory

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LONDON, England -- Arsenal took control of Champions League Group G on Tuesday as goals from Thierry Henry and Alexandr Hleb eased them to a 2-0 home victory over Portuguese Champions Porto.

Last season's runners-up top the group on six points after two games, with CSKA Moscow second on four after they beat Hamburg 1-0 earlier. Porto have one point.

Both sides started slowly at the Emirates Stadium before Arsenal started exert their influence midway through the first half.

Kolo Toure had a goal disallowed after a linesman ruled the ball had gone out of play in the build-up while Dutch striker Robin Van Persie somehow managed to blast over the bar from meters with only the keeper to beat.

With the home side making the most of the width of their new pitch Porto struggled to keep up with Arsenal's quick one touch passing.

Full-backs Emmanuel Eboue and William Gallas pushed up forcing Porto back in to their own half and the pressure eventually told.

The breakthrough came in the 38th minute as Porto right back Pepe failed to get off the ground when Emmanuel Eboue whipped in a pin point cross from the right to pick out Henry, who scored with a rare header.

Arsenal got the second straight after half time after a strong run from Gallas who laid the ball off to Henry who quickly shifted it to Hleb whose right foot drive beat Helton to find the corner of the net.

Arsenal seemed to ease off from then on but could have made it three as Henry jinked his way to the byline before cutting the ball back to Cesc Fabregas only for the Spaniard to fire straight at Helton.

Despite having more possession in the closing stages, Porto posed little threat apart from a sharp shot from Ricardo Quaresma which Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann almost allowed to roll over his body.

Hamburg beaten again

Meanwhile, a second-half header by Brazil midfielder Dudu gave Russian champions CSKA Moscow their victory over struggling Hamburg.

Dudu outjumped Boubacar Sanogo and beat goalkeeper Stefan Wachter with a strong header from 10 metres in the 59th minute after a corner from fellow-Brazil international Daniel Carvalho.

Carvalho could have added a second just a few minutes later when his free-kick ricocheted off the head of Hamburg's Iranian defender Mehdi Mahdavikia but Wachter stopped the ball on the line.

Wachter, playing in place of suspended first-choice keeper Sascha Kirschstein, made another great reflex save with his feet to deny Ivica Olic in the 14th minute when the Croatia striker fired a low shot from close range after evading three defenders.

CSKA dominated in the first half but without top striker Jo they had trouble breaking down a tight German defence.

The 19-year-old Brazilian, the Russian Premier League's leading scorer, has not fully recovered from a knee injury and was left on the bench.

The Russians came alive after the break, creating a string of chances before Dudu's match-winning goal.

The Germans moved forward late in the game in search of an equaliser. Substitute striker Jose Guerrero just missed the near post with a powerful shot from the edge of the box and Sanogo wasted another chance after a goalmouth scramble.

Hamburg's misery was compounded four minutes from time when substitute Benjamin Lauth was shown a straight red card by Dutch referee Jan Wegereef for elbowing winger Yuri Zhirkov six minutes after coming on.

It was Hamburg's second red card in two Champions League matches after Kirschstein was sent off after 10 minutes of their opening 2-1 defeat by Arsenal.

CSKA coach Valery Gazzayev praised the team before singling out Dudu for his effort. "Dudu had a great match. Obviously, I'm quite happy with this victory, which moves us closer to our goal of reaching the knockout round," said Gazzayev.

Hamburg coach Thomas Doll, whose team remain bottom of the group without a point, said: "We fought hard for the whole 90 minutes but it's not enough in top international football," he said.

"We had several chances but just could not find the net. We're now in a very tough situation," he added.


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Arsenal players celebrate after Henry (right) put them ahead against Porto.

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