Arsenal break through Allegri’s defensive wall to beat Napoli and open their Champions League campaign with three points

Napoli 0 x 1 Arsenal: Ødegaard decides it, and the Gunners break through Allegri’s defensive wall in Champions League opener

Arsenal got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start with an important away victory. On Wednesday, September 9, the Gunners beat Napoli 1-0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, in Naples, in the competition’s opening league-phase round. Martin Ødegaard, in the 75th minute, scored the goal that decided a game in which Mikel Arteta’s side controlled the territory and created the better chances, but had to keep pushing until they finally found a way through against an increasingly deep Napoli side.

Arteta made changes from the Premier League win over Chelsea: Piero Hincapié, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres all started. On the other side, Massimiliano Allegri set up a Napoli side prepared to sit back and break quickly on the counter, with Kevin De Bruyne as their main creative outlet.

First half

Arsenal started by pushing into the attacking third, but from the early stages they found a compact Napoli side ready to close down the spaces around the box and look for opportunities in transition. In the 12th minute, Gyökeres picked out Saka with a trivela cross, and the England winger attempted an acrobatic effort that forced Alex Meret into a good save.

Napoli responded two minutes later. On a quick break, De Bruyne carried the ball through the middle and got a shot away after the Italian side’s transition. David Raya could only parry the first effort, but Arsenal’s defence was there to clear the danger. It was a pattern that would repeat itself for much of the match: Arsenal on the ball, Napoli waiting for an opportunity to attack the space.

In the 21st minute, the Gunners produced one of their best moves of the first half. The attack began down the left, the ball was delivered into the box and Eze laid it back into the middle. Merino arrived with a header and forced an excellent save from Meret, who turned the ball behind for a corner.

By the 25th minute, the possession figures still reflected a fairly even game — 51% for Arsenal to Napoli’s 49% — but the difference was in the initiative. The visitors had already registered six shots, three of them on target, while Napoli had managed three efforts, with two testing the goalkeeper.

Napoli, however, were not completely pinned back. Allegri’s side found openings whenever they managed to play through Arsenal’s first line of pressure, while De Bruyne remained a threat whenever he was given room to carry the ball.

In the closing stages, Arsenal once again settled in front of the Italian box. In the 42nd minute, the Gunners patiently circulated the ball, searching for an opening against a Napoli side sitting increasingly deep. What was missing, though, was enough speed at the right moment.

Then, in the 44th minute, the opening arrived.

Ødegaard picked out Saka with a superb low pass, and the winger received the ball with room to drive forward. It was a huge opportunity, but Saka got underneath his effort and sent it over the bar. In such a tight game, it was a chance that could easily have come back to haunt him.

A minute later, from a set piece, Ben White found Hincapié inside the box. The defender’s effort lacked power and Meret comfortably saved.

Arsenal finished the first half with 53% possession and 13 shots, three of them on target, while Napoli had 47% possession, four shots and three on target. The score remained goalless, but Arsenal left the first half with the feeling that the breakthrough was within reach.

Second half

Napoli returned for the second half with a forced change. Meret picked up a problem late in the first half and was replaced by Vanja Milinković-Savić, who took over in goal.

The pattern, however, remained unchanged.

In the 49th minute, Ødegaard found Ben White making a run into space. The full-back headed the ball across to the far side of the box, where Hincapié arrived, but he could not get the ball under control. It struck the defender and went out.

Arsenal continued to camp around Napoli’s box as the hosts dropped deeper and deeper. In the 60th minute, the Gunners were almost permanently in the final third, moving the ball from side to side in search of an opening. Napoli, meanwhile, were finding fewer and fewer routes out and increasingly resorted to long balls.

Allegri recognised the problem and further reinforced his defensive structure. Napoli were now defending almost with a back five, turning the game into a test of endurance.

Arteta also made changes. Bruno Guimarães and Christos Tzolis came on to improve Arsenal’s ability to circulate the ball and create openings. And it was Tzolis who would play a part in the decisive moment of the match.

In the 74th minute, Arsenal were already moving the ball almost inside Napoli’s box. Bruno Guimarães found Ben White, who played the ball into Ødegaard. The captain combined with Tzolis and received the return pass just outside the box.

Then came the decisive moment.

Ødegaard struck first time, the ball clipped the post and nestled into the net. 1-0 Arsenal.

Arsenal had finally found the opening they had been searching for since the start — and once again, their captain stepped up to decide the game.

The goal forced Napoli to abandon their extremely defensive approach. And Arsenal had the chance to put the game to bed.

In the 84th minute, a counter-attack looked decisive. Madueke received the ball from Havertz and found himself in a two-on-one situation. The attacker went clean through on Milinković-Savić, but the Serbian goalkeeper won the duel. Tzolis reacted first to the rebound and fired a first-time effort towards goal, but Napoli’s defence got across to block it.

Napoli finally found a little more space in the closing stages. In the 88th minute, De Bruyne received the ball inside the box and sent a low cross into the middle, but nobody arrived to meet it. It was one of Napoli’s best opportunities to find an equaliser.

In stoppage time, Arsenal threatened again. Ødegaard found Tzolis, who cut inside and got his shot away. Milinković-Savić produced another excellent save. Havertz put the rebound into the net, but he was offside — and did not even celebrate.

The final whistle confirmed Arsenal’s 1-0 victory, with Ødegaard scoring the only goal of the night.

Martin Ødegaard — Man of the Match — 6 key passes, 2 big chances created and 1 goal scored. — Sofascore Rating: 9.0

What remains

Arsenal did not produce a perfect performance, but they did something great teams need to know how to do in the Champions League: turn territorial dominance into three points away from home.

Arteta’s side showed patience against a Napoli team that spent long spells defending in a low block. They did not always find enough speed to break down the Italian structure, and they missed chances that could have made the result far more comfortable. Saka had a clear opportunity, Merino forced a big save from Meret and Madueke could also have put the game beyond doubt before the final minutes.

But Arsenal never lost control of the game.

The victory also reinforces Ødegaard’s importance to Arteta’s project. When the game demanded someone capable of turning possession into a decisive moment, the captain stepped up on the edge of the box and produced the finish that settled the contest.

For Napoli, the defeat exposes the other side of the story. Allegri managed to keep Arsenal off the scoresheet for almost 75 minutes, but his side spent too much time defending and showed little ability to turn their counter-attacks into sustained threats. De Bruyne produced flashes, but Napoli could not maintain their attacking outlet once Arsenal increased the pressure.

In the end, the Italian defensive wall held firm for almost the entire night. Almost.

Arsenal return to England with three points, a statement away win and the feeling that, even when they are not at their best, they continue to find ways to win. In a competition like the Champions League, that can be just as valuable as any big victory.