Misfiring Arsenal beat Napoli with Odegaard stunner in Champions League

What the report says

Arsenal opened their Champions League league-phase campaign with a 1-0 victory over Napoli in Naples, relying on a late Martin Odegaard strike after a match in which they controlled long spells but wasted several clear chances. Al Jazeera, citing AFP, reported that the English champions struggled to finish early opportunities against a disciplined Napoli side before Odegaard scored from the edge of the area with about 15 minutes remaining.

The result extended Arsenal’s strong start to the season under Mikel Arteta, coming after they had won their first three Premier League matches. It also marked another setback for Napoli, who were already dealing with injuries in midfield and had to replace goalkeeper Alex Meret at halftime. Arsenal’s lineup included several changes from their weekend win over Chelsea, with Piero Hincapie, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres making their first starts of the season.

The match was competitive despite Arsenal’s territorial advantage. David Raya was called into action early, while Arsenal’s best first-half chances fell to Merino and Bukayo Saka. Napoli’s counterattacks, led in part by Rasmus Hojlund and supported by Kevin De Bruyne and Matteo Politano, briefly threatened to punish the visitors. Arsenal nearly added a second goal late on, but the score stood after a blocked attempt and a disallowed Kai Havertz tap-in. The result gives Arsenal an early boost in a league phase where every point can shape qualification and seeding.