Arsenal comfortably get past Dinamo Zagreb: Five things we learned | OneFootball

Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in a very comfortable Champions League win that almost secures them qualification into the next round. Here’s five things we learned.

Arsenal have all but confirmed automatic qualification

The Gunners are third in the Champions League table after winning tonight, and as long as they get at least a point against Girona they should secure qualification into the next round of the competition.

The value of missing two high intensity legs of knockout football cannot yet be known. But when the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and PSG are potentially playing more games and are subsequently more tired towards the end of the season, the benefits may well be visible.

Kai Havertz shone

On a night where not many players stood out, Havertz certainly did. His touch for Declan Rice’s goal was nothing short of magic, and his own goal was a nicely put away header.

The German has been inconsistent in recent weeks, and a big performance on a Champions League night should do him the world of good.

Arsenal were relentless in attack without penetrating much

Arteta’s side played the majority of the game in the Zagreb half. Without creating too many clear cut chances, they dominated proceedings. Kai Havertz assisted Rice’s goal with a lovely cushioned ball, and almost did the same for Raheem Sterling minutes later.

The lack of strong chances created may worry Arteta, although on the other hand his side got the win, didn’t pick up any injuries and can move on to their next assignment against Wolves in the league without any worries.

Sterling struggled to have an impact

The on-loan Chelsea winger has had a tough time since moving to Arsenal, and that continued tonight. The 30-year-old was isolated with Ronael Pierre-Gabriel on numerous occasions, but was unable to get the better of him.

He then switched to left-wing, and didn’t find much more joy. With each passing game it seems more and more as though Arsenal made an error bringing him in. And with current injuries and fans crying out for an attacker, it could be a costly mistake.

Arteta experimented with two left-footed centre-backs

Jakub Kiwior, Gabriel and Oleksandr Zinchenko all started in defence, meaning three of the back four were left-footed. Arteta clearly highlighted a benefit that would arise from this line-up, and especially in the first half, Arsenal did build up really nicely from the back.

Whether or not the Spaniard will tinker with this back four more often in the Premier League is unknown, but it worked well tonight.