Goals from Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard earned Arsenal a comfortable 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, putting Mikel Arteta’s side on the brink of automatic qualification for the knockout rounds.
Rice, a former Conference League winner with West Ham United, had not scored in his previous 15 appearances in Europe’s premier club competition, but it took just two minutes for him to rattle in a blistering half-volley after Havertz palmed away Gabriel Martinelli’s drilled cross from around 12 yards out.
The strike calmed any nerves around the Emirates Stadium after Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa, in which Mikel Arteta’s side surrendered a two-goal lead to walk away with just a point.
There were no such mistakes against the Dinamo team, which was led by the former for the first time Golden ball Fabio Cannavaro’s winner, with Arsenal in complete control of proceedings without any need to shift into second gear.
It should have been Arsenal more than an hour to score their second goal and their dominance of the ball and territory did not bring them plenty of chances. Havertz was once again the man for the big occasion, wandering to the back post unmarked to rise highest to meet Martinelli’s inviting cross.
Odegaard made it three entering injury time, scoring from close range after good work from Leandro Trossard.
Gunners are third on the list Champions League table, with five wins and a draw registered in their seven matches, and will seal a place in the top eight provided Girona do not beat them in the eighth round, along with a number of other results going against them.
Read the full report from the match Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb here.
*Ratings are provided by FotMob
|
Position / Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: David Ray |
6.9/10 |
|
RB: Jurrien Timber |
7.6/10 |
|
CB: Jakub Kiwior |
7.4/10 |
|
CB: Gabriel |
7.7/10 |
|
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko |
7.4/10 |
|
DM: Jorginho |
7.7/10 |
|
CM: Martin Odegaard (c) |
8.7/10 |
|
CM: Declan Rice |
8.2/10 |
|
RW: Raheem Sterling |
7.0/10 |
|
CF: Kai Havertz |
8.1/10 |
|
LW: Gabriel Martinelli |
8.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Thomas Partey (58′ for Timber) |
6.6/10 |
|
UNDER: Ethan Nwaneri (58′ for Sterling) |
6.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Leandro Trossard (74′ for Havertz) |
6.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Kieran Tierney (74′ for Zinchenko) |
6.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Nathan Butler-Oyedeji (90′ for Martinelli) |
ON |
Unused subscriptions: Neto (GK), Tommy Setford (GK), Maldini Cacurri, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, Ismael Kabia.
Man of the match: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
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