Kai Havertz set up one and then scored himself as Arsenal all but sealed their place in the Champions League final with a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
The Gunners now have three points and a healthy goal difference ahead of ninth-placed Aston Villa in the long Champions League table with one game remaining, meaning they will skip the play-off round in February and resume the competition a round later in March.
Rice’s second-minute strike – his first Champions League goal – after Havertz’s stoppage time provided the perfect start for Arsenal on their way to three points as the Gunners dominated a game where they did not concede a single shot on target.
Arsenal should have put more into Dinamo’s net in the first half, and Gabriel missed the best chance from close range. “It’s an absolute player,” said Tim Sherwood on Soccer Special.
But just as the Emirates were getting nervous from a one-goal cushion, Havertz headed home Gabriel Martinelli’s wicked delivery to double their lead.
It wasn’t just goals in back-to-back home games for the Germans, it was Arsenal’s 500th goal under Mikel Arteta.
And as the game went into stoppage time, substitute Leandro Trossard teed up Martin Odegaard who slotted home from close range – the Arsenal captain scoring his first goal from open play for club or country since last April.
The win means Arsenal can go into their final Champions League game away to lowly Girona next week with little effort.
Why is Arsenal’s exact position important?
Within the top eight, the higher a team finishes within each of the qualifying groups, the better their path – on paper – to the later stages of the tournament.
If the team finishes first or secondwill skip the knockout playoff and play with one of the winners of the matches in between 17./18 and 15/16 seeds in round of 16.
However, if the team finishes seventh or eighthwill skip the knockout playoff and play with one of the winners of the matches in between 9/10 and 23rd/24th seeds in round of 16.
Who would Arsenal play for right now?
Arsenal are currently in third place, meaning that if they were to stay in this position until the end of the league stage next Wednesday night, they would face the winners of the play-off between 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th.
The teams currently in these positions are Brest (13th), Borussia Dortmund (14th), PSV Eindhoven (19th) and Club Brugge (20th).
It will be to determine who plays whom in the knockout round two draws after the league stage.
First draw on Friday, January 31 at 11 a.m will determine which of the two options each team will receive in the knockout playoffs. For example, a team that finishes 13th will find out if they are playing against a team that finishes 19th or 20th.
The holders (9th-16th) will have a return match at home, and those games of the playoff round will take place on 11th/12th. February and 18/19 February.
Teams seeded 1st through 8th will have to wait until Friday, February 21 to find out their opponents.
That draw will then determine who they meet in the round of 16 and ultimately chart their full path to the finals.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout matches taking place?
- Round of 16: 4./5. March and 11/12 March 2025
- Quarter-finals: 8./9. April and 15/16 April 2025
- Semi-finals: 29./30. April and 6/7 May 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
The story of the match in statistics
What is coming in the Champions League?
