Due to results in the previous Champions League gameweek, Arsenal knew ahead of their home tie vs RC Lens that a win would not only secure qualification, but also as group winners. And that incentive seemed enough for the Gunners as they thrashed the French outfit 6-0 at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta opted to start with a similar XI to the one that beat Brentford 0-1. With match winner Kai Havertz coming in to start ahead of Leandro Trossard to make up the midfield three alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
Early goals has not been a theme of Arsenal’s season so far but that trend did not align with the opening stage of this his particular encounter as Havertz continues on from last weekends win as he opened the scoring. The German tapping home from close range following a knock-down from Gabriel Jesus. And soon after, Jesus turned goalscorer when the ball found itself in the path of the Brazilian in the Lens penalty area. He showed ice-cool composure to fool two Lens defenders before slotting the ball away into the bottom corner to double Arsenal’s lead within the first 20 minutes.
And just two minutes after that, a long kick by David Raya was flicked on by Havertz to Gabriel Martinelli. The winger carried the ball into the box where his shot was saved by Lens keeper Brice Samba but the ball bounced off the incoming Bukayo Saka to make it three for the Gunners. But it didn’t stop there, as Martinelli got in on the act as he finished off a solo-run with a fine finish into the far corner to make it four with just 30 minutes played.
Despite their dominance in front of goal, Raya was still called into action at times as he did well to claim a number of crosses from the Lens wingers. Arsenal however had one more in them before half-time as a superb counter-attack finished with Takehiro Tomiyasu crossing for Odegaard to volley home for 5-0. The relief on the face of the captain was clear to see after a tough number of weeks for Odegaard as he rounded off a quite spectacular first half from Mikel Arteta’s team.
The second half – perhaps predictably – was played at a slower tempo as the Gunners aimed to keep the clean sheet intact, although they would find one more goal as late on a penalty was awarded following a handball and substitute Jorginho slotted home his spotkick to put the end to the scoring and complete the thrashing. Confirming Arsenal as winners of group B in the process.
Mikel Arteta won’t have much time to celebrate though as he and his team return to Emirates Stadium on Saturday to face Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Player Ratings:
David Raya: 7 – Claimed a number of crosses well and distribution was solid
Takehiro Tomiyasu: 8 – Came off at half-time but had an excellent first half which included two assists
William Saliba: 7 – Actually was given a tough test at times against Elye Wahi but still did well
Gabriel: 7 – Solid as usual
Declan Rice: 7 – Another game, another strong performance from Arsenal’s record signing
Martin Odegaard: 7 – Back in the goals for the captain who finished his effort superbly
Kai Havertz: 7 – Two in two for the German who looked so much more confident
Bukayo Saka: 8 – Goal and an assist to make it 17 G/A in 19 appearances this season. He’s called Starboy for a reason
Gabriel Jesus: 8 – The UCL master. A fourth goal in as many games in as many games in the competiton this season for the striker
Gabriel Martinelli: 8 – His goal was the pick of the bunch and he terrorised the Lens backline all evening