Arsenal beat Napoli 1-0 in the Champions League thanks to a world class, all-around shift from Martin Odegaard.
In reality, it should have been much more. The Gunners tore the Partenopei apart at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona from the start.
Still, it took 75 minutes and a Martin Odegaard stunner for them to finally break the deadlock and earn all three points.
How did Arsenal carve Napoli open?
Odegaard’s performance beyond the goal
Martin Odegaard single-handedly won Arsenal all three points against Napoli. Not only did he score their only goal of the night, but also set his teammates up to do it themselves all game long.
The Norwegian playmaker could have easily left the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with two assists to his name. He created the best opportunity of the game according to Opta’s expected goals model. But Bukayo Saka placed a shot worth 0.70 xG over the bar.
Christos Tzolis also missed a big chance late on, seeing his effort worth 0.25 xG fall into Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s hands. Kai Havertz actually scored off the rebound, but was offside.
When Odegaard didn’t hand chances in a silver platter for other players, he initiated all the dangerous actions. He led the game in line-breaking passes with 27, being that 26 of those happened on the final third.
The No.8 also broke the opposing defensive line with passes five times, while no other player on the pitch did so more than twice.
He took matters into his own hands in the 75th minute, after seeing every other Gunner fail to put their chances away. A tidy right-sided combination saw him strike the ball outside the box, which hit the post before going in.
Arsenal firing on all cylinders
His goal is actually a good segway into the next topic of discussion. We mentioned in our post-match coverage of Arsenal’s Premier League opener that they looked more fluid and loose in possession against Coventry City.
Many people pointed out how reliant the Gunners were on set pieces over the past few years, but that simply hasn’t been the case so far this season.
And they managed to create chances against Napoli in every single play type: set pieces, open play, counter attacks, facing mid and low blocks.
Mikel Arteta once again made it a priority to play down the right-hand side, as it has been in nearly every game so far. Arsenal constantly looked to get runners down the byline in good position to cross, or even do it from deeper positions.
That’s how their first big chance came, after Saka found Eberechi Eze with a cross towards the far post. Eze headed it back inside the box but Mikel Merino placed his effort straight at goalkeeper Alex Meret. Saka then missed the biggest and best shot of the game after Odegaard played him through on goal during a counter attack.
In the second half, Odegaard once again broke Napoli’s defensive line and found Ben White inside the box. The right-back played the ball to the other side but Piero Hincapie somehow missed as well.
The Gunners had as much as 83% possession in the first ten minutes of the second half. Their relentless start in this span forced Massimiliano Allegri to adopt his occasional 5-4-1 with winger Matteo Politano turning into a right-wing-back as a full-time defensive formation.
This meant that Arsenal were now facing the Partenopei almost exclusively in a low block, which did slow them down a bit. But constant movement and intricate, short-passing play – and a worldie – did the work as Odegaard scored.
However, it was almost an overload on the right wing that allowed for that sequence to happen. Left winger Christos Tzolis joined the attack on the opposite side to facilitate the play and layed it off for the Norwegian. It’s another example of Arsenal looking sharper and looser in possession, which has already gotten them playing some nicer football.
Noni Madueke and Tzolis both missed great chances from a two-on-one counter attack late on while the Greek saw the goalkeeper stop another of his shots in added time.
Overall, there’s not much more you could ask of the Gunners. 26 shots – 13 in each half -, six big chances and just over four expected goals facing a highly accomplished, defensive-minded coach away from home.
Arsenal’s perfect start to the new season has now extended to five wins from five games and no apparent signs of slowing down.