Arsenal 6-0 RC Lens: Mikel Arteta’s Gunners into Champions League last 16 as Group B winners

Arsenal secured qualification to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage in some style as they hit Lens for six in a sublime performance at the Emirates Stadium.

Five goals came in a remarkable first half that saw Mikel Arteta’s side produce some of their very best attacking football to rip Lens apart time and again.

Kai Havertz opened the scoring as he turned a Gabriel Jesus flick-on home after 13 minutes, and it was the Brazilian who made it 2-0 eight minutes later with a lovely finish after cutting onto his right foot on the edge of the box.

Three goals came on a six-minute flurry as the ball bounced in off Bukayo Saka from close range to make it 3-0, before Gabriel Martinelli scored the pick of the bunch with a beautiful strike – cutting in from the left and curling a shot into the far bottom corner.

Martin Odegaard made the game safe as Arsenal continued to play breathtaking football, and a late Jorginho penalty added further gloss to a scoreline that secured the Gunners top spot in Group B with a game to spare, allowing Arteta to turn his attention back toward the Premier League going into a busy December.

Lens are a decent side and beat Arsenal in the first meeting between these sides in the group stage. But the way they were dismantled by Arteta’s team at the Emirates would have been noted by all of the biggest teams across the continent.

This was the sort of display that earmarks a team as potential champions, and Arsenal showed that they have plenty of weapons in their armoury this season.

It was the impact of two summer signings that was particularly impressive, with Havertz and Declan Rice playing superbly in the middle of the park as they continue to take last season’s Premier League runners-up to a new level.

Many players stood out on a superb night for Arsenal, but it was Havertz who lit things up in the first half, starting the game in the thick of the action and getting the goal that his early efforts deserved to make it two in two.

The confidence which that gave the German was clear to see, and he played superbly from that moment on, popping up in dangerous spaces across the midfield and looking every inch the talent that initially persuaded Chelsea to bring him to England from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020.

A strutting Havertz isn’t something that’s been seen much during his time in London, but if this performance can be the springboard for his Arsenal career then the Gunners are set for something special in the coming seasons.

Arsenal: Raya 7; Tomiyasu 7, Saliba 7, Gabriel 7, Zinchenko 8; Odegaard 8, Rice 8, Havertz 9; Saka 8, Jesus 9, Martinelli 8. Subs: White 7, Kiwior 7, Nelson 7, Nketiah 7

Lens: Samba 7; Gradit 5, Danso 6, Medina 6; Frankowski 5, Mendy 6, Samed 5, Haidara 5; Sotoca 5, Fulgini 5, Wahi 6. Subs: Machado 6, Thomasson 6, Aynaoui 6, Khusanov 5, Da Costa 6

13′ – GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Lens (Havertz): Havertz arrives to latch onto a Jesus flick and finish from close range to give Arsenal the lead. The goal is greeted by a huge cheer and smiles all round from his team-mates. VAR checks for a possible offside, but it’s relief for Arsenal and Havertz as the referee confirms that the goal will stand and Arsenal are one to the good.

21′ – GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Lens (Jesus): It’s another for Arsenal and it’s Gabriel Jesus. Saka darts inside and is tackled on the edge of the box, but the ball breaks to Jesus. He dummies the shot superbly, cutting back to take two defenders out of his path before slotting a low effort beyond the keeper.

23′ – GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Lens (Saka): Oh wow! It’s three! Arsenal break again, with Havertz putting Martinelli into space. His effort is saved, but the ball bounces straight back onto the onrushing Saka, rebounding off his abs and into the back of the net. Arsenal are on fire.

27′ – GOAL! Arsenal 4-0 Lens (Martinelli): Oh my word! It’s another and it’s the best of the lot. A booming long pass from Tomiyasu finds Gabriel Martinelli out on the left, he jinks inside, working himself into a shooting position, before curling an absolute peach into the far corner.

45′ – GOAL! Arsenal 5-0 Lens (Odegaard): Pure class from Arsenal. A flowing counter-attack sees numerous players involved, with Saka carrying the ball long and doing well to wait for his team-mates to provide support. Tomiyasu arrives on the overlap and dinks in an inviting cross that numerous players could have got on the end of, and it’s Martin Ødegaard who does so, volleying low into the bottom corner to make it 5-0.

85′ – PENALTY! The decisions is made and Arsenal have a penalty. It looked at first as if Khusanov had fouled Martinelli in the box, but the decision was actually made that he handled the ball as it dropped, which he did. It’s a penalty and Arsenal could make it six…

86′ – GOAL! Arsenal 6-0 Lens (Jorginho): Jorginho steps up and sends the keeper the wrong way in trademark fashion. It’s a sixth for Arsenal and that caps an extraordinary night.