December 1, 2023
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 eigh
By Arsenal
