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Fans are slating Arsenal for a run on Champions League silverware after a thumping first half at home to Lens on Wednesday.
The evening could hardly have got off to a better start as under-fire Kai Havertz put the Gunners ahead for the second match running. The German summer signing has been criticised for a lack of impact so far this season but didn't need a second invitation to mimic his match-winner at Brentford on Saturday.
And the goals were like buses at the Emirates as Gabriel Jesus turned from provider to scorer eight minutes later. Just two minutes passed before Bukaya Saka brought the hosts' tally to three, Gabriel Martinelli added a fourth before the clock had passed the 27-minute mark, and Martin Odegaard made it five on the stroke of half-time.
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“Arsenal to win the Champions League this season,” wrote one admirer on X (formerly Twitter) as they looked set to wrap up a first-place finish in Group C. And the plaudits didn't stop there as another commented: “Arsenal have just as big of a shot as Man City to win the Champions League.”
"This Arsenal team by the way," gushed another fan on social media. "They’ll take some stopping. My tip for the title." That being said, there will inevitably be tougher tasks to come in the bid for a maiden Champions League crown.
Who do you think will win this season's Champions League title? Let us know in the comments section below.
Prior to Wednesday, no English club had ever led a Champions League fixture by five goals at the half-time interval. After being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by West Ham in shock circumstances last month, the backing for continental conquest will be a breath of fresh air to those in north London.
In addition, the Gunners also became the first club in Champions League history to produce five different scorers in the first 45 minutes of a match. Lens felt somewhat aggrieved to not be awarded a penalty when Havertz appeared to handle the ball in his box at 4-0, but Arsenal's luck continued.
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It's exactly the kind of response Mikel Arteta will have wanted from his side after they slumped to a 2-1 loss in Lens last month. Jesus put the north Londoners ahead in France, only for the hosts to come back into the clash on the back of a David Raya error.
But the Spaniard was hardly tested in goal in the earliest phases of the reverse fixture, despite the fact Lens had the majority of possession in the first half. That couldn't contrast more with Arsene Wenger's former methods, proving it's the quality of control that's most significant.
- Champions League
- Arsenal FC
- Premier League
- Ligue 1
- Footballblog
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