The clearest moment of this defeat, which had been precise to the point of being sterile, occurred a few seconds into extra time. Arsenal had been playing flawlessly all night, but now, near their own six-yard box, Lens forward Elye Wahi had a good opportunity to lessen their lead. However, Gabriel Magalhães, who had a relatively easy game up until that point, quickly stopped the chance with a strong tackle and celebrated in front of the home supporters as if he had scored their seventh goal.
Arsenal ended with six points, but Mikel Arteta was ecstatic about the achievement. It was a testament to their strong focus, which allowed them to easily secure first place in Group B with one game remaining. The fans were satisfied with the dominant performance in the first half and were even happier when Jorginho scored a late penalty. While the visitors may have hoped for a consolation goal, Gabriel was determined to prevent that. This level of dedication will be crucial when facing tougher opponents in the spring, and Arteta was pleased with the attitude his team has displayed.
He stated that when our team exudes a confident and determined attitude, and approaches each action and game with utmost effort, positive outcomes are inevitable. The team’s drive to succeed and refusal to give up are the traits that will help us improve.
The relative bleakness of Europa League Thursdays and, latterly, free midweeks seems a distant memory. Arsenal certainly made it easy to forget the dark times here, even if Lens defended risibly in shipping four goals within the first 27 minutes. Had PSV Eindhoven not engineered a remarkable turnaround win at Sevilla earlier in the evening, Arteta’s side would have been home and dry without kicking a ball. In the event they did not have to play for long before securing their progress, picking Lens apart whenever they went through the gears.
Lens did not feel pressured at the beginning, briefly giving the impression that they could possibly replicate their previous victory against their opponents from eight weeks ago. However, this was the peak of their evening. Kai Havertz, who returned to the starting lineup after his impressive performance as a substitute in the Brentford game, provided a warning in the 12th minute with a header that narrowly missed the goal. Despite the support of their energetic fans dressed in red and yellow, Lens failed to take heed of this warning.
Shortly after, Gabriel Jesus outmaneuvered Kevin Danso, a center-back who was significantly taller, in a battle for a high-arching ball. Jesus then headed it down for Havertz to score from up close, passing Brice Samba. Havertz had read the situation well, but Danso’s lack of assertiveness gave Jesus the opportunity to create the play. This set the tone for the rest of the game.
On the following occasion, when Arsenal made a threatening attack, Danso and Facundo Medina accidentally obstructed each other after Bukayo Saka’s pass to Jesus seemed to be blocked. Eventually, Jesus gained control of the ball and cleverly created an opening, scoring a smooth low shot to Samba’s right side. This secured the points and a spot among the top teams in the round of 16.
Despite this, Arsenal continued to push forward. Havertz, taking advantage of the open areas created by Lens, received the ball from a long clearance by David Raya and passed it to an attacking Gabriel Martinelli. Although Martinelli’s shot from his preferred position on the left was powerful, it should have been easily handled by Samba. However, his save ended up deflecting off an unsuspecting Saka, giving him what could be considered as one of the most unusual goals of his career.
Arteta praised Saka’s recent knack for scoring scrappy goals and was also delighted with Martinelli’s performance, where he skillfully dribbled past Przemyslaw Frankowski before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Samba. Lens had a few moments of promise, with Raya making a save from Wahi and Medina hitting the post, but Ødegaard’s impressive volley from a cross by the exceptional Takehiro Tomiyasu gave the score a strange and unexpected look at halftime.
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Arteta expressed his disbelief at the ease of their progress, stating, “I never imagined it would be this smooth. We dominated a strong opponent and everything went according to plan in the first half hour.”
Everyone probably would have been satisfied to end the day before the second 45 minutes, as it was mostly uneventful except for several player changes and the impressive efforts of the away team’s fans to keep up the energy.
Lens has a small chance to advance to the knockouts if they win against Sevilla at home and if Arteta can lead Arsenal to victory against PSV. Arteta stated that they will prepare for the game in the best way possible, but the lack of pressure will be a relief. Jorginho, who came in as a substitute, scored a penalty with the help of VAR, causing a brief moment of excitement towards the end. Arsenal can now enjoy their dominant win without any complications.
Source: theguardian.com
