Arsenal edge Napoli after captain's 75th-minute winner

Martin Odegaard scored 15 minutes from time to give Arsenal a 1-0 Champions League victory away to Napoli. The Guardian reported that Arsenal had controlled long periods and created several openings before their captain finally broke through at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The result gave Mikel Arteta's side a winning start in the competition.

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Arsenal established territory in Napoli's half while the hosts looked for opportunities on the counterattack. Bukayo Saka forced goalkeeper Alex Meret to save an overhead kick, and Mikel Merino was unable to convert after Eberechi Eze headed the ball across goal. Ben White also sent an effort directly at Meret as the visitors sought an opening.

Napoli still carried a threat. Kevin De Bruyne's run through midfield prompted a rare error from David Raya, although Arsenal recovered and cleared the danger. Matteo Politano later tested Raya, while Saka fired over at the other end following a pass from Odegaard. Replays showed the assistant referee had incorrectly raised the offside flag on that Arsenal move.

Meret was replaced by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic at halftime. Arsenal continued to press after the interval, but Piero Hincapie missed the target at the far post after White headed the ball into his path. Napoli coach Max Allegri responded by moving to a back five as his team tried to resist the visitors' pressure.

The decisive move arrived in the 75th minute. Substitute Christos Tzolis exchanged passes with White and set up Odegaard, whose shot went in off the post despite Milinkovic-Savic getting his fingertips to it. Kai Havertz later had an injury-time goal ruled out for offside, while fellow substitute Noni Madueke also had a chance to make the margin wider.

Arteta said afterward that Arsenal need players with the mindset and personality to decide matches. He also pointed to Odegaard getting into scoring positions more often in recent games. According to The Guardian, the Norway international has now scored four goals in his past five matches after registering once in all competitions last season. Arsenal converted only one of their chances in Naples, but that was enough to secure all three points.