This was an evening of milestones for Arsenal and Gabriel Martinelli, although there was no smile broader than Noni Madueke’s. The England forward was subjected to a ridiculous online petition that opposed his move across London from Chelsea in the summer. But on a rare appearance on the right flank as Bukayo Saka was given a welcome rest, Madueke scored a fantastic individual goal before adding a second after half-time to set up a comfortable victory for Mikel Arteta’s side.
It means Arsenal have become only the fifth English team to win their opening six matches of a Champions League or European Cup campaign and now need only a point to rubber stamp their progress directly to the last-16, even if in reality it is already a formality thanks to their superior goal difference.
Martinelli was not to be denied his moment either as the Brazilian’s superb curling effort meant he is the first Arsenal player to have scored in five successive Champions League matches. His compatriot Gabriel Jesus also made his first appearance in almost a year after a cruciate ligament injury, meaning it was pretty much the perfect response that Arteta was looking for after losing their 18-match unbeaten record at Aston Villa.
With Declan Rice not having travelled to Belgium because of illness, Arteta had suggested that he would look to rotate his starting lineup after the defeat to Villa on Saturday. But there was further bad news when he revealed before kick-off that Jurriën Timber had not recovered from a knock he picked up against Villa, meaning Christian Nørgaard and Piero Hincapié became the seventh central defensive partnership Arsenal have fielded this season. Riccardo Calafiori was only fit enough for a place on the bench as their litany of injuries continue to mount up and he was joined by 16-year-old defender Marli Salmon to underline just how deep Arteta is having to delve.
Given all that, it might not have been the best time to face a Club Brugge side who were desperate to impress their new manager Ivan Leko after his predecessor Nicky Hayen was sacked on Monday. Three defeats in their last four matches proved to be the final straw for the manager who led them to the Belgian title last season, with Leko – who also won the title during his first spell in charge in 2018 – tasked with turning things around.
Yet despite impressing in a 3-3 thriller against Barcelona last month, their weakness has been at the back and Arsenal showed their intentions when Martin Ødegaard forced Dani van den Heuvel into a save after six minutes. The pace of the former Wolves loanee Carlos Forbs was a constant handful for Myles Lewis-Skelly but the England left-back managed to get forward in the 21st minute and saw his wayward shot diverted on to the post by Hincapié’s quick thinking. Not much appeared to be on when Madueke picked up the ball midway inside the Brugge half a couple of minutes later until a stunning piece of skill took him away from his marker. The England forward seemed to glide away from two more defenders before unleashing an unstoppable shot that went in off the crossbar.
It was a goal worthy of winning any game, although Brugge continued to look dangerous, in particular through Forbs. Raya denied the Portugal forward before Aleksandar Stankovic went close from distance. The hosts were growing in confidence. Christos Tzolis was able to find space inside the area just before half-time but Raya read his intentions before the Spaniard produced a brilliant full- length save to deny Stankovic again.
Madueke had been denied a second goal by Van den Heuvel’s flying save at the end of the first half but he had to wait less than two minutes after the restart for another chance. This time there was no way he could miss Martín Zubimendi’s brilliant cross from the left that picked him out unmarked at the back post. There was nothing simple about Martinelli’s personal piece of history soon afterwards as the Brazilian – who had scored against Athletic Bilbao, Olympiacos, Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich – cut in from the left flank and unleashed an unstoppable curling shot to make it 3-0.
Jesus almost capped his return with a goal but saw his strike cannon back off the crossbar. Salmon, who starred alongside Max Dowman for Arsenal’s Under-18s last season, was also handed his Champions League debut for the last eight minutes and certainly looked the part as his side took another significant step towards potential silverware.
