Every player marked out of 10 in 6-0 Champions League thrashing
Arsenal 6-0 Lens (Havertz 13′, Jesus 21′, Saka 23′, Martinelli 27′, Odegaard 45+1, Jorginho pen 86′))
EMIRATES STADIUM — Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in seven years and did so in style as they thrashed Lens 6-0.
The Gunners only needed a point to progress but victory means top spot is guaranteed and they can now rest weary legs in their final group game away at PSV Eindhoven in two weeks’ time.
It was under-fire Kai Havertz who opened the scoring, before the whole forward line got involved, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and then Gabriel Martinelli with the pick of the goals, giving the Gunners a four-goal lead inside 30 minutes.
Captain Martin Odegaard became the fifth different goalscorer in first-half stoppage time, a Champions League record before the break, before substitute Jorginho completed the rout with an 86th-minute penalty.
Arsenal player ratings
David Raya: Was notably direct with his feet after weeks of criticism about his passing, but had very little to do with his hands 6
Takehiro Tomiyasu: Sprayed a perfect cross-field pass to Martinelli to send him away to score the fourth, and he added a second assist in first-half stoppage time, a fine cut-back to find the captain on the volley 8
William Saliba: Not an obvious night for critiquing Arsenal’s defence but the livewire Elye Wahi did leave Saliba standing on more than one occasion, and in different circumstances could have been a real headache 6
Gabriel Magalhaes: Little to do. Hard to fault. Amusing effort to fire up the crowd again after making a late block 7
Oleksandr Zinchenko: Deft early ball over the top gave Jesus the first chance of the match but the Brazilian could not hit the target. Was given the night off at half-time 7
Martin Odegaard: Arrived at the perfect time to connect with a Tomiyasu cross and make it five before half-time. Might have been a candidate for an early shower but, after an injury and illness-blighted few weeks, perhaps wanted to make a statement about his own fitness 7
We have to prioritise who to rest and as well he hasn’t accumulated that many minutes in the last six or seven weeks. So we asked him how he was, he was fine and he managed himself a bit in the second half and he was fine.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Declan Rice: Read Lens’s counter-attacks well in the early stages, snuffing out danger before it really took light. Was a spectator once the game was won after half an hour, apart from one marauding run deep into Lens territory – at which point he got a little lost 7
Kai Havertz: Hard to read too much into an opportunistic strike against a feeble opposition, but goals breed confidence, a currency Havertz desperately needs. After the winner against Brentford, his back-to-back appearances with non-penalty goals for 31 games 8
Bukayo Saka: It was his mazy run that led to Jesus scoring Arsenal’s second but he knew very little about his seventh goal of the season, a parried shot that went in off his left hip. Right place, right time though and also given a much-needed rest after 65 minutes. Five years to the day since his debut, he is now irreplaceable at Arsenal 7
I’ll never forget that day. It was a cold day like this. I’ve gone through a lot on and off the pitch since then.
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka
Gabriel Jesus: Competed better to win a second ball and create the first goal, and then showed no rust when fainting to send Kevin Danso onto his backside and then planting the finish past Brice Samba to score his first goal for a month 9
Gabriel Martinelli: Drove at the defence in trademark fashion before his shot was saved, leading to the third goal, and the Lens defenders did not learn their lesson when he was allowed to cut in on his right foot again and score 9
Arsenal substitutes
Jakub Kiwior: A valuable chance to spend 45 pressure-free minutes learning the Zinchenko hybrid role, in midfield with the ball and at full-back without it 7
Ben White: Starting to look like a genuine competition for the right-back spot, with Tomiyasu deputising with aplomb whenever asked to do so. White perhaps needs to show more going forward as his fellow full-back starts to impress more with that side of his game 6
Reiss Nelson: Might have expected to get on at half-time rather than just getting 25 minutes at the end 6
Jorginho: Sat nicely in front of the defence but is not, clearly, Declan Rice. Bagged his first Arsenal goal from the penalty spot courtesy of Odegaard’s generosity 7
Eddie Nketiah: Came on with less than 10 minutes to go n/a
Beyond Arteta’s dreams
Mikel Arteta says he “didn’t even dream” of beating Lens 6-0 and winning Group B with a game to spare.
The Gunners will be seeded in December’s last-16 draw, in which Arteta’s side find themselves for the first time since the Arsene Wenger era.
“We’ve done it in a very convincing way against a really good side and I think the team right from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game,” Arteta said.
“Everything happened in the right way, especially in the first 30 minutes and that was really helpful to win the game.”
Only eight weeks ago, Arsenal were beaten 2-1 away home by the same French side, who have lost just one of their last 12 games and been miserly at the back, conceding just six goals in that time.
But Arteta insisted Arsenal were not out for revenge, but had learned from their mistakes on that October night.
“Defeat gives you a lot of things to think about and take the learnings from from that,” Arteta added.
“Credit to them, they are a really good side. They are extremely well coached and they make life very, very difficult for you but today we were really effective.”
