Martin Odegaard continued his impressive start to the season as the Arsenal captain scored the only goal in a hard fought 1 0 victory over Napoli in Naples.
Arsenal looked set for a frustrating draw after wasting several good opportunities, but Odegaard produced the moment of quality his side needed to secure all three points in their first Champions League outing since their painful defeat in last season’s final.
The Norwegian midfielder found the net from outside the box, sending Arsenal’s travelling supporters into celebration. The goal was his fourth in five matches this season, including the Community Shield.
Mikel Arteta’s men had already missed three clear chances to take control of the game before Odegaard finally broke the deadlock. Despite their wastefulness in front of goal, Arsenal held on to claim an important away victory against last season’s Serie A runners up.
The winning goal was also the result of an impressive team move, with Arsenal completing 29 passes before Odegaard finished the attack. It was their second highest number of passes in the build up to a Champions League goal since records began in the 2003 04 season. Lucas Perez’s goal against Basel in December 2016 remains the highest, following 33 passes.
Arsenal had won all eight of their group phase matches on their way to last season’s Champions League final, and they have now started their latest European campaign with another strong result away from home.
Relief was evident among the Arsenal players at the final whistle, with Piero Hincapie dropping to his knees and repeatedly thumping the ground after the victory was confirmed.
The result gives Arteta’s team an encouraging start to their Champions League campaign and a valuable win on Italian soil.
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Barcelona defeated Feyenoord 5 1, Stuttgart beat Viking 3 1, while Liverpool secured a 2 1 win over Atletico Madrid.
Paris Saint Germain recorded a 6 1 victory over Slovan Bratislava, Sporting defeated Galatasaray 3 1, while Napoli lost 0 1 to Arsenal.
The next fixtures include Fenerbahce against AS Roma, PSV against Shakhtar, Bayern Munich against Bodo Glimt, Como against RB Leipzig, Manchester United against Sabah Baku and Sparta Prague against Lens.
