Odegaard strike earns Arsenal 1-0 win at Napoli — SkimNews
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- Arsenal beat Napoli 1-0 in their Champions League league-phase opener on September 10, but only Odegaard's 75th-minute strike beat the keeper despite 26 shots worth 4.05 expected goals — both their highest totals on record in a Champions League match.
- Martin Odegaard scored his fourth goal in five games this season — a stunning turnaround from just one in 36 last term — and led all players on the pitch in touches, passes, and chances created.
- Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, Piero Hincapie, and Noni Madueke each spurned clear openings, with Hincapie somehow blasting over from six yards and Madueke missing a one-on-one before Christos Tzolis's follow-up was blocked on the line.
- Arsenal extended their group-stage Champions League winning streak to 13 consecutive games — the second-longest run in competition history — while keeping their 20th clean sheet in 40 matches under Mikel Arteta.
- Kevin De Bruyne wasted Napoli's best late chance by opting to cross instead of shoot when put through in the box, ensuring Arsenal celebrated a fifth straight win in all competitions.
- Mikel Arteta said his side's performance did not reflect the result and that the margin "should have been much bigger," praising the team's courage in imposing themselves on "a really tough environment" against "a really tough opponent."
Why it matters: Arsenal's dominant metrics — a club-record 26 shots and 4.05 xG in a Champions League game — exposed a finishing problem that nearly cost them, as Saka, Merino, Hincapie, and Madueke all missed clear chances and only Odegaard's individual quality separated a deserved win from a dropped result.
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