It was patchy, sloppy, and slow at times, but a win is a win, and Arsenal are perfect in the new Champions League campaign. After the opening 1-0 victory in Naples, the Gunners defended their home turf tonight, brushing aside Lille 3-0.Although the triumph seems convincing, Mikel Arteta’s men struggled for over an hour, and then sealed the deal with a seven-minute blitzkrieg, scoring three goals between the 64th and 71st minutes, through Jurrien Timber, Eberechi Eze, and Bukayo Saka, who also provided an assist, coming off the bench with 25 minutes to play.Now, Arsenal can focus on the Premier League race with Manchester City, with their next domestic challenge coming in five days away to Nottingham Forest.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Arsenal beat Lille 3-0 with three goals in seven minutes 🔴 Timber broke the deadlock, then Arteta brought on Saka, Havertz and Ødegaard. Saka set up Eze and Havertz set up Saka. Game over in the blink of an eye. https://t.co/ENBCs7y8tG</p>— 90 Plus (@90PlusHQ) <a href="https://x.com/90PlusHQ/status/2110111559867642028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##Although many would have expected the reigning Premier League champions and last season's Champions League finalists to have an easy time of it, Davide Ancelotti and his men came to London ready to put up a fight.Arsenal controlled possession for long spells, weaving a web around Lille's box, but their finishing left a lot to be desired.Bruno Guimaraes squandered the Gunners' best chance of the game in the 20th minute, firing narrowly wide from close range.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">📸 Shocking 😳 miss by Bruno Guimarães that would have put #Arsenal 1-0 up #ARSLIL https://t.co/ZrFg8zaNMM</p>— SamAkinSeun (@SamAkinSeun) <a href="https://x.com/SamAkinSeun/status/2110089536894275667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##Lille, meanwhile, found the net two minutes later through Ayase Ueda, only for the goal to be ruled out after the Japanese forward was caught offside.Most of Arsenal's attacks came down the flanks, with Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze providing the width, but neither winger managed to find Mikel Merino or Viktor Gyokeres with their crosses, leaving the sides deadlocked at half-time.##LINKED_NEWS_69686##The same story continued in the second half, with the Gunners' pressure being much stronger. In fact, the visitors barely crossed moved into the opposition's half, and eventually, they paid the price.When their forwards couldn't break the deadlock, Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber did it in the 64th minute, showing a striker's instinct inside the box. Right after the opener, Mikel Arteta subbed on his regular starters Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka, with the third providing an assist for Eze in the 67th minute and scoring himself four minutes later.##LINKED_NEWS_69716##Following the Gunners seven-minute blitzkrieg, Lille's hopes of avoiding defeat in North London were shattered. Apart from a number of substitutions, nothing notable happened until the end of the match. Arsenal recorded a statement victory, while Arteta managed to rest several key players for the upcoming Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest at City Ground next Sunday.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 2TuesdayLens – Sporting Lisbon 0-2 (0-1)/Suarez 22, Doumbia 74/Sabah Baku – Slavia Prague 2-0 (0-0)/Parris 49, Mickels 88/Arsenal – Lille 3-0 (0-0)/Timber 64, Eze 67, Saka 71/Atl. Madrid – Man. United 2-0 (1-0)/Barrios 1, Lookman 79/Galatasaray – Barcelona 1-4 (1-1)/Batrakov 28 – Cancelo 43, Fermin 50, Gordon 53, Adeyemi 65/Inter – Club Brugge 2-4 (1-1)/Martinez 44, 81 – Tresoldi 30 pen, 63, 74, Vermant 87/RB Leipzig – PSV 1-0 (0-0)/Gruda 75/Viking – Bayern 3-3 (2-0)/Stensness 2, Christiansen 38, Haugen 90 – Kane 54 pen, 60, Diaz 71/Villareal – Napoli 3-1 (2-1)/Mikautadze 23, Mourino 26, Oluwaseyi 86 – Rrahmani 8/Wednesday19.45: (3.50) Feyenoord (4.00) Como (2.00)19.45: (9.50) LASK (6.00) Liverpool (1.28)22.00: (1.70) Aston Villa (3.70) Fenerbahce (5.10)22.00: (2.20) Betis (3.45) Porto (3.25)22.00: (3.20) Bodo (4.00) Dortmund (2.10)22.00: (2.25) Man.City (3.60) PSG (3.05)22.00: (3.90) Roma (3.70) Real Madrid (1.90)22.00: (2.70) Shakhtar (3.35) AEK (2.60)22.00: (9.00) Slovan B. (5.90) Stuttgart (1.30)***odds are subject to change***##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-138314-96518" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/138314/season/96518/standings?widgetTitle=UEFA+Champions+League&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:1763px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##
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