Arsenal 3-0 Lille: Timber, Eze and Saka strike in a second-half burst at the Emirates

Arsenal beat Lille 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in London, scoring all of their goals in a seven-minute spell after the break. The Champions League match kicked off at 3am Malaysian time on 14 October.

Jurriën Timber opened the scoring in the 64th minute, set up by Noni Madueke. Eberechi Eze doubled the lead three minutes later from Bukayo Saka’s pass, and Saka made it 3-0 in the 71st minute, with Kai Havertz providing the assist.

Arsenal’s own match report says the first half finished goalless, and that Ayase Ueda had the ball in the Arsenal net on 21 minutes before the offside flag was upheld by a VAR check. According to the club, Saka’s goal was his 19th in Europe for Arsenal, a total only Thierry Henry has bettered. David Raya kept a clean sheet as he equalled David Seaman’s goalkeeping record of 38 Champions League appearances, the report adds. Lille did not have a shot on target, and Olivier Giroud came off their bench to a standing ovation.

The result gives Arsenal two wins from two in the league stage, after a 1-0 win away to Napoli on 10 September. The club counts it as their 14th successive victory in the group stage and league phase of the competition, three short of the record of 17 held by Bayern Munich.

Arsenal visit Bayern Munich in the Champions League on 22 October, kicking off at 3am Malaysian time.