Napoli 0-1 Arsenal: Ødegaard strike earns Gunners hard-fought Champions League victory | OneFootball

English Champions Arsenal got off to the perfect start in this season’s Champions League campaign with a hard-fought victory against Napoli.

Arsenal had a couple of opportunities in the first half and dominated possession but failed to capitalise on this.

As Napoli began to tire in the second half and failed to keep their structure, Arsenal exploited this and Martin Ødegaard found the winning goal with a wonderful strike that kissed the post on the way in.

Napoli pushed for an equaliser but squandered any chance of doing so. Pressure now piling on manager Allegri already, who has lost three games on the bounce.

As it happened

After much probing and a couple of half chances for either side, it was last year’s finalists Arsenal, who had the first big chance of the match. Bukayo Saka cut inside from the right to whip a deep cross into the box towards Eze who headed it back across the box. Mikel Merino then headed goalwards, forcing a good save from Alex Meret in the Napoli goal.

Despite Arsenal having control of the ball for large periods of the first half, it was Napoli finding themselves in better attacking positions more often. The Italian side were much faster in their build-up compared to the patient approach of Arteta’s side.

Saka should have put Arsenal ahead in the final minute of the first half. Martin Ødegaard sliding a ball inside the fullback allowing Saka to receive the ball in behind. However, it was a poor effort from the England international who could not manage to keep his shot on target.

Just five minutes into the second half Arsenal had another big chance to open the scoring. This time their patient build-up led to the ball dropping to Piero Hincapie at the back post after some more Ødegaard magic. The fullback failed to make something of the opportunity and the ball sailed over the crossbar.

Arsenal got their breakthrough after 75 minutes through a wonderful piece of build-up and finish from Ødegaard.

A fine display of quick one-touch passing opened up the space for the Gunners, and substitute Christos Tzolis rolled it back to Ødegaard on the edge of the box, who struck it beautifully off the inside of the post and into the back of the net.

Somehow Arsenal failed to double their lead after 85 minutes. They stretched Napoli wide open with a two-on-one situation. Tzolis played it across to Noni Madueke who should have put the game to bed but failed to do so. Then Declan Rice followed in but saw his effort blocked on the goal line.

Napoli nearly found their leveller with just minutes left to play. Second-half substitute David Neres slipped it in behind to De Bruyne who unselfishly slid the ball across the face of goal, but nobody was there to tap it home. The former Manchester City man perhaps regretting the fact he did not take it on himself.

Kai Havertz thought he had wrapped the game up for Arsenal when substitute goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić spilt Tzolis’ effort into his path. However, the striker was in an offside position when it fell to him.

Napoli Analysis: A Classic Allegri Approach

Napoli approached the game in classic Allegri fashion. They looked to force Arsenal into wide areas and frustrate the English Champions. In the first half they were very successful at doing so, as Arsenal took five efforts from outside the area none of which were on target.

Napoli put numbers behind the ball and smothered Arsenal in midfield areas pushing them back and forcing them to be more wasteful in possession which then allowed them to counter with pace.

Initially this counter looked threatening particularly in parts of the first half. Players like Alisson Santos and Rasmus Højlund progressed Napoli up the pitch quickly with their pace. However, much of their attack was guilty of being wasteful in the final third.

As the game went on Napoli looked to tire and could not move the ball back to front with the same intensity. Kevin De Bruyne had been vital for breaking through the lines in the first half, but by the second was much less accurate with his passing and looked visibly tired.

Napoli slowed down more and more in the second half, but manager Allegri, should have been aware of his side doing as such. He possesses one of the oldest sides in the Serie A, but failed to change his approach despite it becoming clear Arsenal were looking ever more likely to score. He chose to respond after the goal and Napoli looked more threatening with David Neres providing an injection of life.

Arsenal Analysis: A Patient Approach

Arsenal approached the game in a very casual fashion. They looked comfortable dominating possession and attacked with patient build-up. If anything, Arsenal were too patient in their build-up and moved the ball too slow to catch out a deep-lying Napoli defence.

Arsenal possess many creative players, but all too often they did not move the ball quick enough and allowed Napoli to keep their rigid structure. On the rare occasion Napoli did commit men forward and could be exploited, it was Arsenal’s attack that let them down. David Raya and the defenders in front of him did a good job of getting the ball forward and stretching the Italians, but they were too slow deep inside the Napoli half allowing them to regroup.

As the game went on it was clear Arsenal had worn down the Italian side and their patient play did eventually pay off. Some quick passes in and around the edge of the 18-yard box opened up the space for Ødegaard to put them ahead. A well-worked goal and a display of how a quicker and fresher attack can break down such a low block.

When the English side did have some defending to do, they were very professional. Napoli found themselves in good areas and even outnumbered Arsenal at times, but they looked solid and were hard to break down. In particular, Ezri Konsa slotted into the side perfectly and looked as though he had played at the club for years.