Stunning strikes from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli helped Arsenal beat Club Brugge 3-0 and keep a perfect Champions League record.
The victory moves Mikel Arteta’s side three points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the group with two games remaining and all but confirms their place in the last 16.
After a slow start in Belgium, Arsenal sprang to life when Madueke picked the ball up near halfway, drove forward and rifled a shot from outside the area in off the underside of the crossbar to open the scoring. He later added a header to extend the lead.
Martinelli produced a rivalled effort, cutting inside to curl a stunning strike into the net. Gabriel Jesus, making his first appearance since January after a 342-day layoff with an ACL injury, came close to a late fourth when his shot hit the crossbar.
Brugge could feel a touch unlucky, having tested Arsenal’s makeshift defence — with midfielder Christian Norgaard paired at centre-back alongside Piero Hincapie because of injuries — on several occasions before Arsenal pulled clear.
Team news
– Arteta made five changes from the side that lost 2-1 to Aston Villa. Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Riccardo Calafiori were replaced by Christian Norgaard, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.
– Timber was omitted from the match-day squad. Norgaard started at centre-back with Timber, Gabriel, William Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera all out injured.
David Raya kept his fifth clean sheet of the competition, making seven saves in the match after having faced just nine shots on target across the previous five games. Arteta was able to rotate his squad, bringing Saka and Calafiori on late as attention turns to Saturday’s Premier League trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Arsenal’s injury list
– Gabriel, muscle
– Kai Havertz, knee
– Cristhian Mosquera, ankle
– Declan Rice, illness
– William Saliba, knock
– Leandro Trossard, muscle
– Max Dowman, ankle
– Jurrien Timber, knock
Mikel Arteta on the result and injuries (to TNT Sports): “We know how difficult it is to play in the Champions League and win away from home. With that many players out, it makes the task bigger, but I spoke to the boys and told them it was about showing how much we wanted it and resilience. One example was Christian Norgaard… his attitude is always immaculate.”
Noni Madueke (to TNT Sports): “We’re fighting on all fronts. I feel like we can compete on all four fronts. We can win this competition. We can win the league as well. That has to be our aim. We’re in a good place at the moment. We’re a tight group; it’s about the collective, not the individual.”
What’s next
Arsenal travel to Inter Milan at the San Siro on January 20 and host Kairat Almaty at the Emirates on January 28 in their remaining group games.