Odegaard Fires Arsenal Past Napoli in Champions League Opener
Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with Martin Odegaard’s 75th-minute goal finally rewarding a dominant visiting display in Italy.
Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions had to wait for their breakthrough despite producing 26 attempts on goal and controlling long periods of the contest. Napoli defended stubbornly through an even first half, while Arsenal were unable to turn their territorial advantage into a decisive moment until their captain struck in the closing stages.
The result extended Arsenal’s winning run to five matches in all competitions and reinforced their standing among Europe’s leading sides. Napoli midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, facing his former Premier League rivals, agreed with the assessment that Arsenal are currently among the game’s outstanding teams.
“I agree,” De Bruyne said. “They are the champions of England and they lost the last Champions League final on penalties, so we know how strong they are.”
Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri also credited Arsenal’s level, while maintaining that his team had competed well before the visitors increased the intensity after the interval. “We played a good match against one of the strongest teams in Europe,” Allegri said. “The first half was very even, then they raised the tempo in the second. We put in a good performance against an extraordinary opponent.”
Napoli seek response after third straight defeat
The loss was Napoli’s third in succession, following Serie A defeats against Como and Inter. Although Arsenal’s pressure eventually told, De Bruyne saw encouragement in Napoli’s work without the ball and in their occasional attacking spells.
“I think we did a good job,” he said. “When we tried to play, there were moments when we created chances. Naturally, we had to sit deep at times, and in the second half we gave them too much space because we dropped too far back.
“But afterwards we had moments again. For me, it was an improvement on what I saw in the first few games. We are starting to play better, and that is a positive.”
Arsenal return to Premier League duty this weekend with a trip to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, looking to preserve their perfect early-season momentum. Napoli, meanwhile, host Bologna on Sunday needing a result to halt their three-game losing sequence and restore confidence in front of their own supporters.
