Arsenal defeated Club Brugge 3-0 away and almost sealed their place in the last eight of the Champions League with their sixth consecutive win in the competition. Miles Lewis-Skelly’s shot hit the post and Piero Hincapie was inches away from hitting the net. Moments later, Noni Madueke broke the deadlock with one of the tournament’s outstanding goals, scoring from long range.
The English winger doubled Arsenal’s lead just after half-time with an easy goal after capitalizing on a perfect cross from Martin Zvimendi. Gabriel Martinelli added to the score with a stunning curling shot into the far corner. Express Sport rates and predicts the Gunners…
David Raya – 8
He held his ground against several attempts from Carlos Forbes. He made a great save to stop Stanković’s low drive and immediately stopped his pursuit.
Ben White – 7
He was a tireless runner throughout the match, often overlapping Madueke on the right flank to take advantage of open spaces. Defensively, he formed an unexpected but effective partnership with Norgaard.
Christian Norgaard – 7
At Arsenal, he played as a centre-back and was given the responsibility of making long throws. He made an interception that could have saved a goal, preventing Hans Vanaken from scoring, and continued to defend throughout the game, undeterred by his unfamiliar role.
Clown Hincapie – 7
He came closest to the Gunners in the early stages of the game, hitting the post with Miles Lewis-Skelly’s shot. At the other end, he bravely blocked several attempts on goal from David Raya.
Miles Lewis-Skelly – 7
Like Zvimendi before him, he earned the assist with a 15-yard pass to Gabriel Martinelli before a great strike. It was a much improved performance from the 19-year-old after some erratic performances.
Martin Zvimendi – 8
He may not have expected to get the assist as he found Noni Madueke far from goal before a long-range attack. But his second assist was truly noteworthy. Maduke made a perfect cross with his weak foot and easily scored the goal.
Mikel Merino – 5
The Spaniard’s return to midfield seemed to have taken him out of the game a bit, at least for extended periods of time, with his lack of recovery speed leaving his midfield a bit exposed at times.
Martin Odegaard – 6
Early in the match, he took a chance from outside the box. He continued to move the play as usual, but perhaps still needs to find his sharpness before returning to normal action.
Noni Maduke – 9
There was a concerning moment when the winger went down in trouble early on. Fortunately, it was just a finger injury. This was good news, considering his excellent long-range attack quickly gave the Gunners the lead. He forced another strong save from the right just before half-time, but this one had to be parried. He met a great cross from Zvimendi at the back post and headed home.
Victor Gokeres – 5
They had a chance in the first half from a cross from Gabriel Martinelli, but their header went wide. All in all, this is once again a performance that raises more questions than answers, and the argument for lack of engagement and lack of service is diminishing in practice.
Gabriel Martinelli – 7
He generally outperformed Hugo Sique, sending a few crosses into the box and handling the ball well on the left, but was quiet in the first half. On the second run, Sike landed a bright nutmeg and scored in the top right corner.
substitute
Gabriel Jesus – 7
He took a shot between several players, but although it was weak, it ended up on target. Before the end he found another player who could have done better and finished the game with more touches in half the time than Gokeres, who he replaced.
Riccardo Calafioli – 6
He replaced Piero Hincapie and helped stabilize the game in the center of defense against Norgaard.
Bukayo Saka – 6
The fans in the reserves probably weren’t expecting him to play, but the players are always eager to play.
Ethan Nwaneri – 6
He made a much-anticipated cameo appearance, forcing two good saves from the goalkeeper in the final stages.
Mari Salmon – Not applicable
A great moment for this youngster as he makes his late debut for the club.
