Arsenal thrash Lille in the Champions League

On 13 October, Arsenal hosted Lille in their second Champions League group-stage fixture.

The Gunners had to work hard against the visitors for more than an hour before they eventually fell apart within the space of seven minutes.

All three of our goals came down the right flank. First, Timber did brilliantly to beat his opponent with a clever first touch before expertly lifting the ball over the goalkeeper. 1-0.

Then, following a series of substitutions, Saka produced a fine performance. First, he turned provider, picking out Eze. Both players used their weaker feet, but that did not affect the outcome – 2-0.

Just four minutes later, Bukayo got on the scoresheet himself. Combining with Ødegaard and Havertz in a neat move in a tight space, he calmly found the far corner. 3-0.

After that, the game settled down, and the main attraction for the spectators at the Emirates was the appearance of Olivier Giroud on what was once his home pitch. The Frenchman touched the ball just three times in 15 minutes, and that was more than enough.

Arsenal have now secured back-to-back clean-sheet victories and, alongside Barcelona and Sporting, boast a 100 per cent record. Several more teams could join that trio tomorrow.

Arsenal (4-3-3):

Raya – Timber (White, 78), Konsa, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly – Guimarães, Merino (Ødegaard, 65), Rice – Madueke (Saka, 65), Gyökeres (Havertz, 65), Eze (Dowman, 85).

Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Mæhle, Mosquera, O’Neil, Salmon, Calafiori, Hashi.

Goals: Timber, 64 – 1-0; Eze, 67 – 2-0; Saka, 71 – 3-0.

Bookings: Merino, Havertz – Goffi.