Arsenal 3 – 0 Dinamo Zagreb
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal comfortably defeated Dinamo Zagreb at home.
Arsenal started in style, taking the lead in just the second minute. From then on, they overwhelmed Dinamo with relentless attacks, creating numerous chances. Despite some missed opportunities by the forwards, the win was never in doubt. With this commanding victory, Arsenal climbed to third place in the Champions League table.
Declan Rice opened the scoring early, Kai Havertz doubled the lead in the second half, and captain Martin Ødegaard sealed the win with a late goal in injury time.
The match began with a dream start for Arsenal. Gabriel Martinelli’s brilliant cross found Havertz, who set up Rice for a simple finish. The English midfielder scored Arsenal’s fastest Champions League goal since November 2014.
After taking the lead, Arsenal dominated Dinamo, creating chance after chance. Between the 5th and 9th minutes, three Arsenal shots were blocked. In the 14th minute, Gabriel Magalhães missed a header following a corner.
Dinamo managed their first attempt in the 21st minute, but captain Arijan Ademi’s shot was off target. Arsenal had further chances, with Havertz missing a header in the 25th minute and Gabriel Magalhães misdirecting another just two minutes later. In the 42nd minute, Martinelli’s powerful shot from outside the box was saved by Dinamo’s goalkeeper—Arsenal’s first on-target shot since the early goal.
In the second half, Arsenal continued pressing. In the 66th minute, Martinelli delivered another stunning cross, and Havertz’s brilliant header made it 2-0. Ten minutes later, Rice squandered a golden opportunity to increase the lead, failing to direct a close-range header on target.
In injury time, Arsenal’s third goal came from captain Ødegaard. Leandro Trossard’s cross narrowly missed Rice, but Ødegaard collected the ball and scored with ease.
Arsenal now has 16 points from seven matches, with five wins and one draw, solidifying their place in the top three and moving closer to securing a top-eight finish.
Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb dropped to 26th place after their first loss following two consecutive wins, making their path to the top 24 significantly harder.
