Arsenal began their Champions League campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Napoli on Wednesday, with captain Martin Odegaard producing a stunning late strike to secure all three points in Naples.
Mikel Arteta’s side dominated large periods of the contest but struggled to turn their chances into goals against a disciplined Napoli defence. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 75th minute when Odegaard fired a powerful effort from the edge of the area that struck the post before finding the back of the net.
The victory extends Arsenal’s impressive start to the season after the Gunners opened their Premier League title defence with three consecutive wins. It also handed Napoli a third straight defeat after their disappointing 3-2 loss to Inter Milan at the weekend.
Arsenal entered the match looking to begin another strong European campaign after reaching last season’s Champions League final, where they eventually lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
Napoli made several adjustments to their midfield after injuries to Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour came into the side, while Mathias Olivera also returned to the starting XI.
Arteta, meanwhile, made four changes from Arsenal’s 2-1 Premier League victory over Chelsea. Piero Hincapie, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres were handed their first starts of the season.
Napoli adopted a cautious approach from the opening whistle, sitting deep and attempting to frustrate Arsenal’s attacking players. The strategy worked for much of the opening stages as Arsenal found it difficult to create clear openings.
Also Read: Arsenal fight back to beat Chelsea 2-1 in London derby
The hosts still threatened on the counterattack, with De Bruyne and Matteo Politano forcing David Raya into important saves.
Arsenal came close to taking the lead midway through the first half when Merino met a cross with a header from close range, but Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret reacted quickly to push the effort over the crossbar.
Ben White later found himself in a promising position but could only produce a tame finish, while Meret was again called into action to prevent Hincapie’s cross-shot from finding the net.
Napoli continued to pose a threat on the break, with Rasmus Hojlund providing an effective outlet through his hold-up play. Politano tested Raya once again as the hosts looked for opportunities behind the Arsenal defence.
However, Arsenal ended the first half frustrated after Bukayo Saka was sent through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat. The winger lifted his effort over the bar when he had a good opportunity to break the deadlock.
Napoli were forced to replace Meret at half-time after the goalkeeper suffered an injury, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic taking his place.
Arsenal continued to press after the restart and quickly created another excellent opportunity. Hincapie found himself with a chance from close range but could only scoop his effort over the crossbar.
The visitors eventually got their reward in the 75th minute. Odegaard collected the ball outside the penalty area before unleashing a fierce strike that flew beyond Milinkovic-Savic and went in off the post.
The goal came only three days after the Arsenal captain scored the winning goal against Chelsea, underlining his growing influence at the start of the campaign.
Arsenal nearly added a second five minutes from full-time when substitute Noni Madueke saw his effort blocked by Milinkovic-Savic. Christos Tzolis followed up, but his effort was also cleared off the line.
Napoli had a late opportunity to rescue a point when De Bruyne found space inside the Arsenal penalty area following a slick passing move. However, instead of shooting, the Belgian attempted to send the ball across the six-yard box, allowing Arsenal to escape the danger.
Kai Havertz appeared to have sealed a second goal for Arsenal in stoppage time after converting from a Milinkovic-Savic parry, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Arsenal held on to secure a valuable away victory and make a winning start to their Champions League campaign.
The Gunners will next face Lille at home on Tuesday, October 13, while Napoli travel to Villarreal on the same day looking to recover from their difficult start to the European campaign.
Al Jazeera
