We qualified for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with a convincing, confident, classy 6-0 win at home to RC Lens on Wednesday night.
Kai Havertz got his second goal in as many games to give us an early lead, before Gabriel Jesus made it two, Bukayo Saka got a third, and Gabriel Martinelli then got his name on the scoresheet with 28 minutes played in a dominant first-half display.
Martin Odegaard scored for 5-0 on the brink of half-time, and Jorginho became our sixth different goalscorer of the night from the penalty spot late on.
Asserting our authority
It took just seven minutes for us to have our first sight of goal as Oleksandr Zinchenko crossed for Jesus, who could only cushion the ball into the side netting past the near post.
Five minutes later, Saka found Takehiro Tomiyasu overlapping on the right wing. He delivered a cross for Havertz who headed the ball back across goal and just wide of the post.
Kai Havertz scores again
Then we took the lead, Tomiyasu’s cross not cleared and Jesus heading the ball into the path of Havertz, who simply tucked it past the onrushing Brice Samba for 1-0.
Increasing our lead
Jesus was the man who slotted home into the bottom left corner for our second goal of the night, but it wouldn’t have happened without the lung-busting run of Saka, wriggling his way through the middle of the pitch exactly five years on from his senior debut before laying it off for our Brazilian forward.
“We’ve got super Mik Arteta” rung around Emirates Stadium, inviting a third from our glorious Gunners, and Saka duly obliged. Martinelli cut in from the left and his shot was pushed kindly into Saka’s path, and he simply couldn’t miss.
In the 27th minute, Martinelli drifted in from the left wing again and curled the ball into the far corner on his right foot as we went 4-0 up inside the first half-hour - a ruthless performance.
Lens look for a response
Elye Wahi forced a save from David Raya from a narrow angle at the other end for Lens’ first real chance of the game in the 37th minute, before Facundo Madina smashed the post from distance. Angelo Fulgini then struck straight into Raya’s gloves.
Beaming before the break
Martinelli hit the side netting with half-time approaching before Odegaard got in on the act, volleying into the bottom right corner from Tomiyasu’s cross after our full-back had flown past Saka again on the overlap.
Fully in control
Tomiyasu was replaced by Ben White at half-time while Zinchenko made way for Jakub Kiwior.
We made another change with 25 minutes to go as Reiss Nelson came on for Saka.
Unsurprisingly, the second half was nowhere near as eventful and it took until the 67th minute for the first notable chance, Havertz performing some excellent trickery by the corner flag and pulling it back for Odegaard, whose deflected shot was spilled before Lens cleared the danger.
Jorginho came on for Declan Rice, who had looked typically comfortable on the ball throughout, with 15 minutes remaining.
White headed over from an Odegaard corner before Eddie Nketiah became our final substitution of then game when he came on for Jesus with eight minutes to go.
With five minutes remaining, we were awarded a penalty, courtesy of a VAR check, due to a handball from Abdukodir Lhusanov. Odegaard gave it to Jorginho, who calmly slotted into the bottom right for 6-0.
What's next
We return to Premier League action as Wolverhampton Wanderers travel to Emirates Stadium for Saturday's 3pm kick-off. As for the Champions League, our final group game takes place in PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday, December 12.
Stats and facts
- Tonight's win was our 100th in the Champions League (including qualifying matches)
- Havertz has scored in consecutive appearances for us for the first time, having last done so in back-to-back outings as a Chelsea player back in March (a run of three).
- Jesus becomes the first Arsenal player to score in each of his first four Champions League starts for us.
- Saka is the first Premier League player, and second across Europe's big-five leagues (also Florian Wirtz), to reach 10 assists in all competitions this season.
- Our 4-0 lead within 27 minutes is joint-fastest an English side has ever scored four in a UEFA Champions League game, along with Manchester United v Brøndby IF in November 1998 en route to winning the competition that season.
- We're also the first English side to lead 5-0 at half-time in a Champions League game.
- We are the first side in Champions League history to have as many as five different scorers (excl. own goals) in the first half of a match in the competition.
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