Martin Odegaard’s superb second-half goal secured Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Napoli as Mikel Arteta’s men began their Champions League campaign with an impressive away win.
Arsenal returned to European action for the first time since their penalty-shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s final, dominating proceedings throughout their trip to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday.
Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino missed excellent chances before Odegaard finally broke the deadlock with 15 minutes left on the clock.
The Gunners immediately took control, with Viktor Gyokeres setting up Saka for an acrobatic volley that went straight at Alex Meret. Napoli then threatened at the other end, but David Raya managed to parry Kevin De Bruyne’s powerful long-range effort.
Arsenal came close again when Eberechi Eze headed Saka’s cross into the path of Merino, who was unable to beat Meret from close range.
As Arsenal continued to dominate, Eze fired wide while Piero Hincapie’s cross from the left nearly caught Meret off guard at his near post.
Saka then squandered Arsenal’s clearest chance of the opening half, sending a left-footed effort over the bar from close range after Odegaard had picked him out brilliantly.
The visitors maintained their control after the break but continued to struggle to find the breakthrough. Hincapie missed another opportunity inside the six-yard box after a slick team move ended with Odegaard finding Ben White, who headed the ball across goal.
Arsenal eventually got their reward in the 75th minute. Substitute Christos Tzolis combined with Odegaard through a neat one-two before the Arsenal captain unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from the edge of the box that went in off the post.
Noni Madueke came close to adding a second five minutes from time, but substitute goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic denied him. Tzolis’ follow-up was also cleared off the line.
Kai Havertz appeared to have sealed the victory with a simple finish after Milinkovic-Savic spilled Tzolis’ attempt, but an eventual offside flag ruled out the goal.
Odegaard delivers for Arsenal again
Arsenal’s excellent start to the season continued in Naples, having already won the Community Shield and all three of their Premier League matches before this Champions League trip.
Arteta made four changes from Sunday’s 2-1 comeback win over Chelsea, but the strength of his squad was once again evident as Arsenal controlled the opening half and created several opportunities.
The Gunners registered 13 first-half shots, their highest-ever total in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League away game since records began in 2003-04.
Despite their dominance, Arsenal could not find a way past Meret. Saka was particularly guilty of wasting opportunities, with his five first-half attempts carrying an expected-goals value of 0.95, compared with Napoli’s entire team managing just 0.12.
It looked like Arsenal’s dominance might go unrewarded until Odegaard stepped up once again. After scoring the winner against Chelsea, the Norwegian captain produced another decisive moment to give his side victory.
The result was fully deserved, with Arsenal recording a huge 4.05 expected goals compared with Napoli’s 0.22.
For Massimiliano Allegri, however, the pressure is likely to increase. Napoli offered little going forward and have now suffered three consecutive defeats, following Serie A losses to Como and Inter.