Arsenal began their latest Champions League campaign with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Napoli, with Martin Odegaard’s second-half goal finally rewarding the Gunners for a night of sustained attacking pressure in Naples.
Mikel Arteta’s side had chances throughout the contest, but David Raya also played a crucial role at the other end as Arsenal emerged from a difficult opening European assignment with all three points.
Raya keeps Arsenal level in busy first half
The opening exchanges were relatively cautious before Arsenal began to threaten, with Eberechi Eze seeing an early effort deflected behind and then winning a dangerous free-kick from which Bukayo Saka tested the Napoli goalkeeper.
Napoli responded quickly. Raya was called into action to deny Kevin De Bruyne in the 15th minute, before making a Politano save moments later as the hosts began finding spaces on the break.
Arsenal continued creating chances. A good move ended with Mikel Merino heading towards the goalkeeper, Eze fired wide and Saka had several opportunities without finding his range.
Piero Hincapie also forced a save with a cross, while Declan Rice sent an effort over.
Raya was required again in the 39th minute to keep out Matteo Politano, before Billy Gilmour was booked for bringing down Eze.
Arsenal registered 13 attempts during the opening 45 minutes but somehow went into half-time still level at 0-0.
Odegaard finally finds the breakthrough
The Gunners immediately resumed their pressure after the interval, although Hincapie will probably wonder how he failed to hit the target when the ball fell to him directly in front of goal in the 50th minute.
Merino then produced a tame effort which was comfortably saved.
Arsenal were increasingly dominant in possession, enjoying 74% of the ball during the first 15-minutes of the second half, but Napoli dropped deeper and made themselves extremely difficult to break down while remaining capable of threatening on the counterattack.
Arteta began turning to his bench. Bruno Guimaraes replaced Merino in the 65th minute, while Tzolis was also introduced for Eze before Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke replaced Viktor Gyokeres and Saka in the 73rd minute.
Two minutes later, the breakthrough finally arrived.
Tzolis provided the assist and Odegaard struck in the 75th minute to put Arsenal 1-0 ahead, finally giving the visitors the reward their pressure deserved.
Arsenal could and perhaps should have made the closing stages far more comfortable. A superb Havertz break in the 85th minute presented Madueke with a huge opportunity directly in front of goal, but the winger somehow failed to convert.
Napoli almost punished that miss when De Bruyne sent a dangerous ball across the face of goal in the 89th minute.
There was still late drama when Havertz found the net in stoppage time, only for the flag to go up and deny Arsenal a second.
It did not matter.
Full-time: Napoli 0-1 Arsenal.
Not always comfortable and certainly not clinical, but Arsenal have begun their Champions League league-phase campaign with an excellent away victory in one of European football’s more intimidating venues.
What did you make of Arsenal’s performance in Naples? Was Odegaard your Man of the Match again, or does Raya deserve the honours after those crucial first-half saves? Let us know in the comments.
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That is the second time I have seen Madueke go with his left when it could have been easier scoring with the right.
We start with 3points but boy! We should be scoring more.
Odegaard goal was the only memorable thing about this one. Rest I’ve already forgotten
Madueke was atrocious in the community shield match and here again showing no composure in front of goal.. I would love arteta to sit all our strikers and wingers down and show them hundreds of 1 v 1 goal chances converted by thiery henry and Messi.. finishing with aplomb.
Also isn’t it refreshing that all our goals so far are from open play? Haters can’t use the set piece noise again
In the end Odegaard’s goal made it seem like a stroll in the park, but I doubt that we could get away with this type of performance against a more direct and energetic team such as Bayern . Probably even Lille will be a tougher challenge. Lots of Arsenal players I could criticise ,mostly the usual suspects. I don’t know where the love for Gyorkes comes from . He was non existent… Say no more. Also disappointed with Saka. If Martinelli had had this type of game, the haters would have jumped on him thick and fast. Bukayo has to grow up and realize they there is a space between what his head tells him he can do and what his skills and body allow him to do. I hope for his and Arsenal’s sake he makes this adjustment sooner rather than never. Overall it was an easy game to watch because Napoli didn’t want to or have the players to make a game of it. From all reports the only one who wanted Allegri as manager was the the CEO. As someone who comes from the Napoli area, I have a moderately soft spot for the club, although I’m not a fan of Italian football. I wanted Arsenal to win but I was also hoping that Napoli would introduce two or three bright young prospects who in the future could help revive the Azzuri. Instead we saw the usual assortment of bits and pieces and other rejects. One of the best moments for me was the post game conversation between Arteta and De Bruyne. The mutual respect was touching.
The truth, although a small group of people trying to make out Napoli were a bit of a test? I do not know what game they were watching? Italian football has gone to the dogs Joe, from the high of the 80s and 90s. I couldn’t believe how poor some of the Napoli players are, sad really. And yes Allegri won’t last long.
Reggie, I can’t see the rot stopping. The damage done has been criminal.
We won the league last season and reached the CL final for the second time.
I agree our players should change the colours of their football shoes, or perhaps their hair styles.
I am here to read more from everone else as I did not get to watch the game. My impression from the highlights: That Saka miss was bad, then Madueke miss was a crime. I support every player who wears our jersey, but Noni, come on, man.
Ode is back, please MA, do not overuse him. We need rotation. Gykoeres needs game time, now he does not have the exucse of no preseason, he has to prove himself.
Another good thing I see, as someone else pointed out, is we have connections now at the brink of our opponent’s penalty area. The quick and nibble passes are so reminisent of AW time, that is the Arsenal I fell in love with.
Our defense is good, but not untested. Our finishing is a work in progress. The left side needs work, some clear instructions to Eze can help.
The red short really confused me, we look different. Well, that does not concern me, I only buy Arsenal tops.
We struggled against a resolute defense. Lots of possession and plenty of chances, but other than the goal, our finishing was atrocious. Both Eze and Gyokeres were ineffective and Saka had a bad night. Same old story really, if teams come at us we can play through them, but when they don’t, we play tiki taki football that is for the most part ineffective.
Hands up those who knew Madueke would not score one on one with the keeper ………….✋✋✋
Some of the comments so far are like we LOST lol.
We won. That’s the main thing. That’s all that matters
Well done Lads.
Sunderland away Next
Thanks and spot on!
1 – 0 To The Arsenal
George Graham will be loving this
Yes, we should have scored more, but we have got 3 points away from home in Italy.
Still on our unbeaten C L run and another clean sheet.
It’s the first match of this years competition so there were nerves involved.
Hopefully, things might be more settled going forward, and we can build on this.
Not complaining about the score, but how much faith do you have in the forwards who played tonight once the going gets tuff.
Joe, I’ve not yet seen the stats, but I can’t remember seeing an Arsenal side miss so many goal-scoring opportunities in one match. And it wasn’t as if the keepers made great saves, as they were mostly off target from quite easy chances. Saka was the worst by far.
Arsenal’s general play was very good but several players wasted good chances. Saka certainly missed a good number but there were a number of other culprits
Jax Arsenal didn’t play badly, far from it. Napoli were poor and we made hard work of it. Our XG was over 4, says it all. Poor finishing and a poor Napoli.
Reggie, yeah, we played well enough, against a drab Napoli, creating 26 goal attempts, but getting just 7 on target. Saka, who was the biggest culprit almostv scored a spectacular goal with that overhead kick early on, and then proceeded to miss after miss. Weird
We should have won this easily but poor finishing kept Napoli in it, what a poor league Serie A has become, that lot were champions just a few years ago, they are awful! 😀 As for our boys some of the finishing was really poor, Saka, Madueke, Hincappie and Merino all should have scored whilst Gyokeres went missing, did he have any shots at goal? If he wanted to make a statement to Arteta he fluffed his lines with that performance.
Madueke 3/10 by most pundits.
I agree, but we must support them and not make scapegoats. If they’re not good enough they should leave next summer.
Man.City is buying Ryan Cherki while we are looking for first price alternatives 🙂
A good win but as a whole I think the team requires thorough training in finishing. Saka and Madueke missing sitters while Rice and everyone else is just blasting shots wide into the sky! Against a big team like Bayern, Barca, Real, PSG etc you don’t get that many chances to score. It is also clear if Havert, Odegaard or Tzolis get injured our season will take a serious blow.
@Quantic Dream. Fully agree. More training in finishing is really necessary and a matter of urgency.
Also, Saka disappoints me a lot, as he seems more interested in finishing himself than in making assists. A winger’s job is to make assists as well. There are surprisingly few balls that Gyökeres gets from the right wing when Saka is on the pitch. It’s worrying.
Last season Gyokeres lost the ball 43% of the time. Maybe there’s not full confidence in him.
Arsenal wearing red shorts not cool. No colour clash if they wear the 3rd kit the yellow. Odegaard unnecessary yellow card in the last kick of the game.
The promoted 4 subs couldn’t convince Arteta for a starting place. Eze Merino Hincapie Gyokeres.
Thank you Napoli for not playing aggressive physical football despite the ground labelled intimidating.
I hope Sunderland won’t capitalise on this tiring game where most regulars played longer minutes
2 games in a row Saka is not convincing. It looks as if he’s determined to break records for not doing assist passes.
Timber arrived in good time when White’s injury is reported.
Yesterday 8 corners 0 goal. Are we decimating our DNA?
Since the Community Shield Arsenal played 5 games how many set piece goals? Zero!
Let’s compare it against last term’s same number of games
As happy as I am that we won 1-0, I have to say that our lack of goals is a concern.
Arteta can dress it up all he likes with quotes like, well they hit the target 1 in every 6 and if they keep creating it will change. Something similar has been said before.
It really needs addressing, because it will come back and bite us in a big game just you wait and see. 3 games won by the odd goal. That’s going to happen over a season of course it is. But it’s a recurring theme for us.
As for the players, well I must admit I’m being pleasantly surprised with Odegaard’s form so far, and I’m big enough and ugly enough to admit it.
As for Madueke, Oh dear oh dear. The chance he missed when clean through sums him up perfectly. I get Iwobi vibes about him. At least Iwobi was an academy player making his way into the team. Madueke cost £50M, and I think we as fans have a right to expect a better return regards his less than impressive performances.
A certain Gabriel Martinelli may have been frustrating at times, but he did produce some top performances along the way. If you ask me, I know which player should have been out the door, and it certainly shouldn’t have been Martinelli over a certain £50M signing who continues to promise much, but delivers very little.
Just to add to my previous post regards our lack of goals. Last nights game, 26 attempts on goal, 8 on target, and just 1 goal.
If that doesn’t sum us up, I don’t know what does.
I share your concern on the attack Derek. I thought we needed better going into the window – seemed Mikel did too. Instead we deminshed the attack further. Here’s hoping Odegaard retains his sublime form, and neither him or Havertz, or Saka get injured.
Morning Sensible Gooner,
Agreed. 👍👍
My concern above all is Gyokeres.
It seems when Havertz plays we look so much more fluid in attack.
Gyokeres doesn’t have the deft touch and clever positioning that Havertz has.
Havertz works the triangles and finds space. Gyokeres is more like a bulldozer, a decently quick one I might add!
I suppose it wasn’t a very open, counter attacking game that suits Gyokeres, but with that said we won’t have many of those games, especially in PL.
Kia,
Maybe Gyokeres is just not suited to the current way of playing by Arsenal. And if that doesn’t change, then we’re not going to see the best of him.
Time will tell. 👍
Or maybe its something else?
This is a theme Reggie
Have you uncovered anything substantial?
Interesting, do you have a conspiracy theories or some reliable facts?
I think fans should bear in mind that there is no substitute for actually playing matches in terms of fitness, rhythm and teamwork, so it’s very difficult for the likes of Eze, Madueke, Goykeres and Merino to make a meaningful impact given their limited playing time so far this season.That said,the fact that Arteta felt he had to resort to playing a tiring Rice at RB to replace the injured White is a concern which will only be allayed when Timber is fit for the fray.In terms of strength and depth when they are all fit, i cannot think of a stronger Arsenal defence down the years, and i have to say that Konsa ,who i have always liked, has surpassed my expectations.More is needed from our front three back ups, and Madueke in particular needs one on one training with a view to improving his composure and finishing .Unfortunately I doubt whether any personal coaching will have the desired effect as far as he is concerned.A win in Naples is always acceptable despite the fact that the home side is a shadow of their successful sides of the past.
It’s interesting to note that the only forward who didn’t miss a chance was the much maligned Gyokeres.
There were some glaring misses from Saka and Madueke but Gyokeres, in his first start this season, is the scapegoat!!
I totally agree with Grandad regarding Rice and perhaps he might be rested against Sunderland with Bruno seemingly fit along side Skelley?
OT I totally agree with Poch regarding stripping cheating Chelsea being stripped of their trophies as should city 115 if they are found guilty.
nah one more push for Rice Saturday Ken , then he can have the week off
Dan, don’t you think Bruno and Skelley can cope then?
yeah of course but no need to rest Rice when we have league cup midweek
play Rice weekend then he has a week to rest
Sure
Ken, there’s a very good reason for Gyokeres not missing any chances🤣
That being Jax?
0 shots
He didn’t get a single scoring chance, Ken. Not one!
Although I’ve just read in Martin’s article that he created four chances, so that’s encouraging.
Not playing to his strengths then Jax – what is he supposed to do other than give 100% and create chances?
I thought that we bought him to score goals, Ken, although he’s not so great against these ultra-defensive teams.
So did I Jax, but if he’s not selected to play and then not given the service he requires to score the goals, one has to ask why did MA sign him in the first place?
Perhaps he didn’t expect to get a brick wall 😉 Andrea Berta is responsible for our transfers and I have read that MA wanted Sesko.
Not sure you’re correct here Didrik.
I was under the impression that Arteta identified the players he wanted – Berta arranged the contract details and it went upstairs for confirmation.
As for Sesko, I read that the players demands were the reasons the club pulled out of the race and went all out for Gyokeres, who made it clear how much he wanted to join our club.
Well, Andrea Berta seems to have two our options in his basket all the time. From my standpoint it looks like he’s not able to finish the business fast enough. But, it might be media giving us a wrong impression.
Perhaps they never really considered Rogers their main target? When buying Konsa there weren’t much left for offensive players without more sales?
When trying to buy players they most likely wouldn’t get; they seemed busy until the window closed 😉
@ Ken I don’t think Gyokeres is a bad player, my comments are more along the line of the way we are playing currently doesn’t suit his strengths.
One thing I can say either way, he works extremely hard!
Agreed Kia and I didn’t think you were decrying Gyokeres at all.
I’m wondering if MA will use him as part of a “plan B” if we need to change during a game?
If we use Gyokeres to his full potential, it will certainly be a different game to using Havertz at his full potential that’s for sure!!
Ken1945,
I make you right regards the Saka and Madueke misses. Especially Madueke, that one move sums him up as a player. Has the pace to get in some good positions, but then it goes pair shaped at the vital moment.
I think a certain Gabriel Martinelli should have been kept, and a certain £50M player bought from Chelsea should have been shown the door.
my biggest worry is that games like this only reinforce Arteta’s tendency to stick with 11 players and grind them into the ground. He has to figure out how to add one or two at a time to start games and still keep some level of form. And hopefully if he does make some changes the extras will get some better mojo. To be fair to Arteta, the extras have to make it hard for him to ignore them. So far that isn’t the case…
SM – a fair point. If you’re not automatically first choice then you have to give the manager a reason not to overlook you.
Very good performance last night, apart from our finishing. I couldn’t believe the chances missed by Saka and Madueke 😲.
I was very surprised by the way Napoli played, so defensive. First game in this year’s CL and being at home, I expected them to be a bit more attacking.