By Alex Howell, Football reporter at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal scored three goals in seven second-half minutes to maintain their perfect start to the league phase of the Champions League by beating Lille at Emirates Stadium.
Defender Jurrien Timber sent them on their way in the 64th minute after he collected a pass from Noni Madueke and lifted a clever finish over Berke Ozer.
England forward Eberechi Eze added the second three minutes later when he finished first time from substitute Bukayo Saka’s cross.
Having won at Napoli, Arsenal sealed a second victory in the competition when Saka himself rolled in the third in the 71st minute.
Boss Mikel Arteta had made five changes to the side that beat Leeds 2-1 in the Premier League at the weekend, but the frontline of Eze, Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres did not click in a laboured first half from the Gunners.
He resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes at the break and was rewarded when Dutch defender Timber found the breakthrough with a neat finish.
Saka, Kai Havertz and captain Martin Odegaard were then introduced and all three substitutes played a major role in the next two goals as last season’s beaten finalists wrapped up a convincing success.
Arsenal won all eight of their league phase games in the previous campaign before they lost the final to Paris St-Germain – and look like they will be hard to beat at this stage of the competition again.
Champions League Results
Manchester United 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Villareal 3-1 Napoli
RB Leipzig 1-0 PSV
Bayern Munich 3-3 Viking
Club Brugge 4-3 Inter Milan