Arsenal thrashes Lille with three second-half goals to extend Champions League winning run
Arsenal scored three goals in seven second-half minutes to beat Lille and make it two wins from two in the Champions League. Jurrien Timber, Ebere Eze and Bukayo Saka struck as Arsenal extended their winning run ahead of next week’s clash with Bayern Munich.
London: Three goals in seven devastating second-half minutes did the damage as we made it two wins from two in this season’s Champions League with victory over Lille.
After a goalless first half, the gunners finally saw their dominance reflected on the scoreboard in the second half, with Jurrien Timber scoring a fine individual goal to break the resistance at 64 minutes and Ebere Eze finishing off a quick counterattack three minutes later.
Then Bukayo Saka became our second-highest European goalscorer of all time as he coolly netted minutes after coming off the bench, ensuring we made it 14 successive victories in the league phase of the competition, closing in on next week’s opponents Bayern Munich’s record of 17.
A goalless first half flattered the French side, and after the restart Arsenal cranked up the pressure further to try and rectify that. In the opening 15 minutes of the second half, Gunners suffocated Lille, not allowing them out of their half, and eventually their resistance broke.
On 64 minutes, Noni Madueke found Timber inside the box, who produced a brilliant touch to drag the ball into space, and then calmly lifted the ball over Ozer to score in style.
Then Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Saka entered the fray, and within 90 seconds Arsenal doubled their lead. Again, Timber did the damage by pressing high and winning possession, and after Odegaard found Guimaraes, his pass set Saka up to centre for Eze to finish from just inside the area.
And at the 71st minute, the trio of subs all combined to allow Saka to put the game to bed after a devastating period of play. Odegaard played a one-two with the winger on the edge of the box before finding Havertz, and he returned the ball to Saka.
With time to take a touch, he composed himself before sliding into the bottom corner. That was his 19th European goal for us – only Thierry Henry has more.
With the result in the bag, another great French striker received some N5 adulation when 40-year-old Olivier Giroud was introduced as a sub and given a standing ovation.
However, he couldn’t help improving his side’s attacking threat, as Raya celebrated equalling David Seaman’s goalkeeping Champions League appearance record of 38 games with another clean sheet, setting Arsenal up perfectly for our heavyweight fixture in Munich next week.
