EMMANUEL Adebayor hit a hat-trick as Arsenal inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Rovers at Ewood Park.

It had started badly for the home side when Robin van Persie opened the scoring for the Gunners after just eight minutes, taking the ball in his stride fire home after Theo Walcott had beaten three men with a jinking run.

Rovers almost hit back straight away but Kolo Toure's head deflected Roque Santa Cruz's goalbound effort over the crossbar.

The first half was an end-to-end affair with both sides creating chances, Emerton, Roberts and Andrews all going close, but right on the stroke of half-time a Denilson cross from the left found Adebayor in far too much space at the back post to head down and double Arsenal's lead.

Whilst the first half was a close affair, the second was very much one way traffic as Arsene Wenger's side showed their class in controlling proceedings, but it wasn't until the 82 minute that a third was added, Adebayor driving home from the penalty spot after Warnock was harshly adjudged to have brought down Eboue.

And the last act of the game was for Adebayor to complete his hat-trick, rounding Paul Robinson to slide the ball into the empty net. The loss means back-to-back defeat for Rovers, and perhaps of more concern for manager Paul Ince is the number of goals shipped in the last two games.

Ahead of the game Paul Ince made two changes from the side that had started at Upton Park a fortnight earlier, and both changes meant Premier League home debuts. With Andre Ooijer and Vince Grella picking up knocks whilst on international duty, it meant a first Premier League start for Danny Simpson at right back, and a home debut for midfielder Keith Andrews.

But it was one of the longest serving members of the Rovers squad who went close after just three minutes when Brett Emerton got the better of Gael Clichy on the right to latch onto Stephen Warnock's crossfield pass, the Australian drilled the ball hard and low across the six-yard box but Jason Roberts couldn't connect. as he slid in at the back post.

However that early promise soon evaporated when the visitors took the lead with their first attack of the match. It was Theo Walcott, the star for England in midweek, who made the goal, playing on the left he skipped past the challenges of Simpson, Andrews and Steven Reid before threading the ball through to Robin van Persie. The Dutchman is no stranger to getting on the scoresheet against Rovers and that proved to be the case again as he got the better of Nelsen to drive the ball across Paul Robinson and into the corner of the net to give the Gunners an eighth minute lead.

The home side almost hit back straight away, Emerton with an excellent centre for Pedersen, the ball ran loose to Roque Santa Cruz who steered the ball left-footed towards goal but Kolo Toure got his head in the way of the effort to divert the ball over the bar.

But it was from Rovers' corner kick that Arsenal almost doubled their lead, Stephen Warnock being caught in possession by Emmanuel Eboue to allow Adebayor to run clear, he in turn found Walcott but this time his shooting prowess eluded him, the England man curling a right-footed effort wide.

The game continued to ebb and flow, Roque Santa Cruz put a header wide following Emerton's centre, whilst a quick counter attack saw Warnock cross to the far post but Emerton couldn't divert the ball into the net.

But as the half wore on Arsene Wenger's side started to take control of the game once more, Eboue finding van Persie on the right but his low strike only found the side netting.

Then it was Rovers' turn to enjoy a spell of chances, a Santa Cruz flick saw Jason Roberts tee up Brett Emerton but Almunia easily saved his effort, then from a corner kick Steven Reid didn't get a clean connection on his free header.

But the chance of the half for Rovers came on 39 minutes. An passing move that Arsenal would have been proud of saw Roberts feed Emerton on the right, again he drilled the ball hard and low into the six-yard box but Keith Andrews was mere inches away from connecting as he slid in.

Van Persie and Santa Cruz both had efforts off target but the final attack of the half proved to be decisive. Denilson did well on the left to send over a deep cross where Emmanuel Adebayor needed no second invitation as he rose high to head down and past Robinson at the back post.

Rovers certainly had the chances in the first half, but goals at the beginning and the end of the first 45 meant a mountain to climb.

And so it proved to be as the home side never created as many goalscoring opportunities in the second period as Arsenal dominated for long spells.

Just a minute after the restart a flying Theo Walcott evaded the challenge of Ryan Nelsen to race in on goal but his near post shot was well saved by Paul Robinson.

The visitors continued to impress, toying with the Rovers players with their movement and swift attacks, Paul Ince's men just about hanging on at times.

Just before the hour mark Paul Robinson made two excellent saves to keep the Gunners at bay, firstly he denied Kolo Toure from point-blank range after a corner kick had hit the Arsenal defender. The from the resulting corner the ball arrived at the feet of Emmanuel Eboue who drove towards goal only for a flying Paul Robinson to dive to his left to tip the ball around the post.

That Arsenal pressure prompted a double change from the home manager on 69 minutes with Keith Treacy and Benni McCarthy coming on for Morten Gamst Pedersen and Jason Roberts, but it was at the other end where the danger continued and a lot was of Rovers' own making, a Samba back header was woefully short but he redeemed himself by getting to the second ball to head back to Robinson. But a minute later Samba only found Adebayor with a header, this time Ryan Nelsen had to rescue the defender with a last ditch clearance.

Eight minutes from time the visitors were awarded a penalty when Eboue went down in the area under a challenge from Stephen Warnock. The Arsenal midfielder's trailing leg had clipped Warnock's boot, but Mike Dean pointed to the spot despite the linesman on the nearside having a better view but he chose to make no decision.

Emmanuel Adebayor stepped up to drive the ball home to make it 3-0 to the visitors, Robinson nearly got his hand to it but the shot to the 'keeper's left just had too much power.

With the game wrapped up, Arsenal relaxed but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia had to be alert to make the save of the game when Santa Cruz nodded down for sub Benni McCarthy. The South African hit a sweet effort that seemed to be arrowing into the bottom corner of the net until the Spaniard dived full-length to tip the ball around the post.

But the last action of the game was left to the visitors and when sub Aaron Ramsey found Adebayor with a defence-splitting pass, it left him one-on-one with Paul Robinson, but whilst the Rovers number one did well to get a hand on the ball as the Arsenal man looked to take the ball round Robinson, Adebayor was able to get to the loose ball first to slide the ball home.

Paul Ince will be glad that there isn't another international break for another month, but with back-to-back defeats and conceding four goals in each of them, there is plenty to ponder ahead of the visit of Fulham at Ewood next Saturday.

ROVERS: Robinson, Simpson (sub Derbyshire 74 mins), Samba, Nelsen (c), Warnock, Emerton, Reid, Andrews, Pedersen (sub Treacy 69 mins), Santa Cruz, Roberts (sub McCarthy 69 mins).

Subs not used: Brown (GK), Tugay, Mokoena, Villanueva.

ARSENAL: Almunia, Sagna, Fabregas, Toure, Gallas (c), van Persie (sub Wilshere 84 mins), Walcott (sub Song 64 mins), Denilson, Clichy, Adebayor, Eboue (sub Ramsey 82 mins).

Subs not used: Fabianski (GK), Djourou, Bendtner, Gibbs.

Booked: Denilson (Arsenal)

Attendance: 23,041

ROQUE Santa Cruz kept Rovers' faint dreams of Europe alive as his second half strike claimed all three points for the Lancashire club.

The Paraguayan grabbed the winner after a neat one-two with strike partner Jason Roberts on 74 minutes to settle this tight contest.

Jermain Defoe fired wide twice in the first half, whilst Jamie Ashdown pushed away Roberts' effort from the edge of the area, then after the restart he clawed away a goalbound header from Ryan Nelsen.

But Ashdown, in for the injured David James, was powerless to stop Santa Cruz, his low strike sending the 1000 visiting Rovers fans home happy.

As expected Mark Hughes kept faith with the same starting eleven that had performed so well in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United in their previous outing, the Rovers boss sticking to the same 4-2-3-1 formation that had worked to such good effect a week earlier.

The home side made three changes, Glen Johnson, Kanu and goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown coming in for Hreidarsson, Kranjcar and David James.

The game was certainly slow to get going, Sulley Muntari with a long-range effort that didn't trouble Friedel was the only strike towards either goal in the opening ten minutes.

Crosses from the right over to Pedersen coming in round the back showed promise, on two occasions the Norwegian was picked out by centres from Roque Santa Cruz and Steven Reid, but Pedersen wasn't able to direct his headers on target.

With both sides working hard to close down the opposition when not in possession, it lead to a game of hurried and misplaced passes, but on those rare occasions that either side was afforded time on the ball the quality of football improved.

One such move involving Brett Emerton, Morten Gamst Pedersen and David Bentley saw the England man take the ball into the area, but with Santa Cruz and Jason Roberts waiting at the back post, Bentley could only pick out Jamie Ashdown in goal.

That prompted the home side's best spell of the first half with Jermain Defoe at the heart of everything. On 35 minutes he was harshly flagged offside when racing through on goal, then four minutes later he fired a left-footed effort wide of Friedel's goal after the Rovers defence backed off.

Four minutes later the England frontman was in action again, hesitancy in the Rovers defence allowed Defoe to nip in, but from the right of the area he dragged his shot well wide of the far post.

The first shot on target came in the 41st minute by Rovers, Jason Roberts out-muscling his marker Sylvain Distin to turn towards goal, Roberts shot viciously from the edge of the area but Ashdown was alert to push the ball to the side. Roque Santa Cruz should have done better on collecting the lose ball, instead of shooting first time, he passed to a player in blue rather than a Rovers player.

Whilst the first half was largely short on goalmouth incident, the second was a much more open affair.

Ryan Nelsen still awaits his first goal in a Rovers shirt, but he'll never come closer than his 57th minute header from David Bentley's centre. The Rovers captain stopped to power the ball towards goal only to see Ashdown claw the ball aside.

Kanu has been the thorn in the Rovers' defence in many previous encounters, but today he was well shackled by Samba and Nelsen, but the one time he wrestled free of their clutches he was able to switch play to sub Niko Kranjcar, the Croatian international sent over an inviting cross to the back post where Sulley Muntari should have put the home side in front, but somehow he slid his effort across and wide of goal.

Sensing it could be Rovers' day Mark Hughes switched the formation back to a more familiar 4-4-2 and it worked a treat. With just over fifteen minutes remaining, a long ball upfield was only punched by Ashdown into the path of Morten Gamst Pedersen, he fed Santa Cruz who played a one-two with his now strike partner Jason Roberts before unleashing a low left-footed shot that flew past Ashdown at his near post.

It was the Rovers striker's 21st goal in a quite sensational first season for the club.

The goal prompted Harry Redknapp to throw on a third striker in Milan Baros but it was the men in red and black who continued to force the pace. A strong Brett Emerton run resulted in a Roberts shot saved, whilst four corners in quick succession caused panic in the Pompey ranks.

Although Friedel's fancy tricks with the ball at his feet lead to a 'heart in mouths moment as Baros threatened to pounce, the American almost losing possession in his area, before he was finally able to clear the danger.

Chris Samba limped off with a kick to the knee, replaced by Andre Ooijer, before the inevitable late surged arrived. In the 95th minute a twice-taken Kranjcar free-kick found the head of Diarra, but Friedel palmed the effort away.

The win sees Rovers move back into 8th in the league table, three points behind Aston Villa before their game against Everton.

A win for Villa will remove any chance of Rovers returning to the continent in the summer.

PORTSMOUTH: Ashdown, Lauren, Johnson, Diarra, Bouba Diop, Muntari (sub Baros 78 mins), Defoe, Distin, Utaka (sub Kranjcar 46 mins), Campbell (c), Kanu.

Subs not used: Begovic (GK), Aubey, Davis.

ROVERS: Friedel, Reid, Samba (sub Ooijer 87 mins), Nelsen (c), Warnock, Vogel, Emerton, Pedersen, Bentley, Santa Cruz, Roberts (sub Dunn 90 mins).

Subs not used: Brown (GK), Tugay, Derbyshire.

Booked: Defoe, Campbell (Portsmouth), Reid, Warnock (Rovers).

Attendance: 18,722

A goal at either end of the game saw Rovers lose their first League encounter in eight but they pushed Arsenal all the way in this enthralling encounter.

There were ominous signs when Philippe Senderos had headed the home side in front inside the opening five minutes, but in a pulsating match Rovers certainly worried their lofty opponents and but for a little bit of luck they could have found themselves level at the break as they ended the first half strongly.

Hleb hit the foot of the post and Brad Friedel saved to deny Adebayor and Hleb on further occasions as Rovers defended for their lives in the second period, but with the home fans calling for final whistle Adebayor popped up to grab his 19th league goal of the campaign with the last kick of the game.

The result was hard on Rovers, as they gave Arsene Wenger's side as tough a test as they'd seen in quite some time.

Before the game Rovers were forced to make three changes. Suspensions to David Dunn and Morten Gamst Pedersen were absent, whilst Matt Derbyshire didn't travel due to the imminent arrival of twins. That meant starts for Tugay, Bruno Berner and Benni McCarthy.

The home side on the other hand had talked off injury problems during the week, but in the end there was just the one change for Arsene Wenger's side that had defeated Manchester City the previous week, Gilberto Silva coming in for the injured Diaby.

No doubt Mark Hughes' pre-match team talk centred around keeping it tight, quieting the crowd down and making the home side frustrated, but that plan went out of the window inside the first five minutes as the home side took the lead from their first attack.

Tugay's mis-control 30-yards out was seized upon by Adebayor who immediately fed strike-partner Eduardo, as he bore down on goal only a last desperate touch from Andre Ooijer prevented the Croatian from getting his shot away, but that was mere relief as from the resulting Eduardo corner kick, Philippe Senderos was left criminally unmarked to power his header down into the back of the net from six yards out.

With Arsenal taking such an early lead it looked ominous for Rovers, but for the next fifteen minutes they were relatively untroubled, even managing a chance themselves when Steven Reid glanced a header wide, but you always felt another Arsenal attack would be around the corner at any moment.

That proved to be the case on 22 minutes when a ball into space saw Mathieu Flamini run through on goal, but Friedel was alert to the situation and blocked the Frenchman's shot with his legs.

But that proved to be the last time the home side seriously threatened Brad Friedel's goal in the first forty-five as Mark Hughes' grew in confidence, as they started to take the game to the league leaders, frustrating the home fans in the process. Promising situations arose time after time from the flanks, only a vital flick from the head of Gallas stopped either McCarthy or Santa Cruz getting an effort on target from a tantalising Bentley cross on the half hour.

Rovers were starting to keep the ball with more confidence, passing their way through and around Arsenal, another period of possession saw Brett Emerton deliver another excellent ball into the area, but Benni McCarthy couldn't get enough on the ball and in the process took it out of range for Santa Cruz.

Then just before the break another enticing cross into the area saw Arsenal struggling, but Roque Santa Cruz couldn't get a clean connection onto Stephen Warnock's centre.

As they trooped off at half-time, the Rovers players will be kicking themselves that they weren't going in at the break on level terms.

The second half started like the first one did, with the home side camped in Rovers' half. Just four minutes in and Rovers had the foot of the post to thank as Arsenal threatened a second goal. Eduardo switched the ball from one side of the area to the other and as Brett Emerton stood off Alexander Hleb, the Belarusian shot towards goal only to see the ball come off the foot of the near post.

Four minutes later and it was Arsenal's leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor's turn to threaten, outpacing the Rovers defence he shot at goal only for Friedel to save with his legs.

At the midway point of the second half Arsene Wenger's side almost fashioned a goal, Eduardo fed Adebayor but for once he chose to play in Fabregas, the Spaniard dragging his effort wide of goal.

Mark Hughes' side had to work tirelessly to keep the Gunners at bay, closing down the space, defending as a team, and when the opportunity arose, Rovers were able to pass the ball about well, keep possession and again frustrating the home supporters.

But as Rovers committed more players forward they were susceptible on the break. On 75 minutes Adebayor fashioned a chance for himself but Friedel made a smart low save as the striker shot through a crowded area.

With just over ten minutes remaining Mark Hughes threw on Aaron Mokoena and Jason Roberts for Tugay and Benni McCarthy, but as Rovers were adjusting to their new formation the home side twice threatened. First Brad Friedel had to save at the feet of Adebayor, then the American leapt high to palm away an effort from Hleb.

But in the process of defending those chances, Rovers' defender Andre Ooijer was unable to continue and had to limp out of proceedings, it was a huge blow as the Dutchman had been immense once again at the heart of the Rovers defence.

That meant another reshuffle for Rovers and it in turn allowed another attack from the home side, Alexander Hleb ran at the patched up back-four before slipping the ball to his left to Cesc Fabregas, but thankfully he lifted his effort from the edge of the area over the bar.

Rovers had put their heart and soul into this contest, but as the clock ticked into the second and final minute of added time a ball over the top found Hleb cutting in from the right, he found Adebayor in the area, and for once he was able to beat Brad Friedel with a low shot into the corner of the net.

It left Rovers with no time for a come back, referee Stephen Bennett blowing the final whistle moments later, leaving Rovers to lament what might have been.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Sagna, Fabregas, Senderos, Eduardo, Gallas (c), Hleb, Flamini, Gilberto, Clichy, Adebayor.

Subs not used: Fabianski (GK), Bendtner, Traore, Hoyte, Gilbert.

ROVERS: Friedel, Emerton, Khizanishvili, Ooijer (c) (sub Rigters 80 mins), Warnock, Tugay (sub Mokoena 77 mins), Bentley, Reid, McCarthy (sub Roberts 78 mins), Berner, Santa Cruz.

Subs not used: Brown (GK), Kane.

Booked: Fabregas (Arsenal)

Attendance: 60,049