Martin Odegaard fires Arsenal to narrow win over Napoli in Naples

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring the winner. Pic: Agostino Gemito/PA Wire.

Napoli 0 Arsenal 1

Magical Martin Odegaard maintained his outstanding start to the season by shooting the uncrowned Kings of the Champions League to a deserved win in Italy.

The Arsenal and Norway captain, reborn after an injury-plagued couple of seasons, scored his fourth goal of a five-match season.

Kings of Europe? They are at this stage of the tournament. Runners-up last season they were the only team that didn’t lose a single game in normal time in the (W11 D4 L0), a run stretching back to November 2024. They did, of course, lose the final in a penalty shoot-out to PSG.

Will they get a chance to make amends next May in Madrid? Maybe Arsenal could and should have had this match won by half-time but were strangely profligate in front of goal with four good, wasted chances to score.

The locals were almost stunned into silence. Not that is ever likely to actually happen in such a vibrant place as Naples.

There were a few empty seats in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, a shrine to their former favourite son who still dominates the walls and shops of many streets in this iconic old Italian city. The stay-aways might have had something to do with their poor start to the season under new boss Max Allegri following Antonio Conte’s departure. That did not stop them from generating a uniquely hostile atmosphere amid swathes of flags and banners on a sweltering late summer night.

Arteta gave four players their first start of the season, including Eberechi Eze, who fired Arsenal’s first shot on target early on. Bukayo Saka also had a half-decent effort saved with a spectacular overhead.

Buit it was old Premier League foe Kevin de Bruyne, last of Manchester City, who most caught the eye as he too made his first start this term. He broke away from an Arsenal corner to set up a scoring chance for Alisson Santos and then had a stinging shot himself, saved from distance by David Raya.

There was also a recall for Scotland’s former Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilm our alongside the Belgian in midfield. With ex- Man United man Scott McTominay recovering from a minor heart procedure, it was down to striker Rasmus Hojlund to represent the Old Trafford club for the Italian side. How times have changed in Serie A football..

Mikel Merino should have marked his recall to the side with the opening goal of the game when he headed too close to keeper Alex Meret after he had been perfectly set up six yards out by Eze, following a Saka cross to the far post. To be fairer to Merino Meret, it was a strong tip over the bar to keep it out too.

Ben White notched up the visitors’ sixth chance on goal inside the opening half hour and Saka scuffed their seventh with a good opportunity on the volley, while Napoli continued to threaten with their De Bruyne-inspired rapid breaks. It was not dissimilar to Arsenal’s dominant weekend win against Chelsea in which they also looked susceptible to pacey attacks when they committed most of their team forward.

The miss of the match, however, came from the left foot of Saka just before half-time when he lifted a left-footed shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Meret, injured from his relentless efforts, made way for Vanja Milinkovic-Savic for the start of the second half. The Serbia No.1 was the first choice under Conte last season.

Piero Hincapie, also recalled to starting action, lifted another great chance over the bar from close range before the new keeper had a chance to touch the ball. Martin Odegaard created the chance with some great skill, but the miss looked as bad as it gets with the naked eye. Three huge misses – the xG tally came through as 2.35. Would they prey on the Arsenal players as they continued to press for the breakthrough goal as Napoli sat deeper and deeper?

Arteta flicked a switch with just under half an hour to go when he sent on summer signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis for Merino and Eze. Tzolis’ contribution was a wild volley so high it would not even have counted in any ball sport of any shape.

Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke were added soon after.

Then came the moment of team magic and Odegaard’s marvellous finish to give Arsenal the win they deserved. A prolonged spell of possession play, during which Napoli once had all eleven men in their own area at times, climaxed with Odegaard exchanging passes with Guimaraes and Tzolis before curling a left-footed shot inexorably into the furthest corner of the Napoli net.

Madueke missed a sitter to double the goal margin and De Bruyne wasted an even better opportunity in the 89th minute of the match. The blue and white flags continued to be waved but now seemingly dipped at half-mast as the travelling Arsenal fans ruled the airwaves.

Napoli: Meret 7 (Milinkovic-Savic 46), Olivera 6, Marin 6, Rrahmani 6, Di Lorenzo 6, De Bruyne 7, Lobotka 6 (Lucca 77), Gilmour 6, Santos 5 (Vergara 58), Hojlund 6, Politano 5 (Favasuli 57).

Arsenal: Raya 7, White 6, Konsa 6, Gabriel 6, Hincapie 6, Merino 6 (Guimaraes 66), Rice 6, Odegaard 6, Saka 7 (Madueke 73), Eze 6 (Tzolis 65), Gyokeres 5 (Havertz 73).

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE) 6.