Gabriel Martinelli celebrates scoring his goal. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal are the only team with maximum points through five rounds of the Champions League, producing a commanding win over Bayern Munich on a night that also saw Liverpool collapse at Anfield, Kylian Mbappé blast in four goals for Real Madrid, and Tottenham sunk in Paris.
Inter’s late defeat at Atletico and Atalanta’s five-minute scoring burst in Frankfurt rounded out a chaotic matchday five.
Mikel Arteta’s side made the biggest statement of the round, outclassing Bayern 3-1 to move clear at the top of the league phase with five wins from five.
Jurrien Timber opened the scoring with a header from a Bukayo Saka corner, before Bayern levelled through 17-year-old Lennart Karl.
Noni Madueke, who replaced injured Leandro Trossard, restored the lead with his first goal for the club since his arrival from Chelsea, guiding home a perfect cross from Riccardo Calafiori. Gabriel Martinelli sealed the win when he was put through by Eberechi Eze and rounded a stranded Manuel Neuer.
Declan Rice was monumental for Arsenal in a game where Harry Kane, who has been on fire in the Bundesliga and Champions League, failed to have a shot and was booed for his Tottenham links.
“Look at Bayern Munich this season, they have been the best team in Europe,” said Rice. “This was probably the toughest game tactically we have played this season. The way they work it is so, so good.
“We went man to man with them in the second half and I thought tonight we were outstanding. The manager is so happy. It was a special European night.
“Yes, definitely [it feels different to last season]. There are so many leaders in the team. We are just taking it one game at a time. There is a hunger and desire to win every game. There is a long way to go – let’s not get carried away.”
Kane said: “It was a tough game which is kind of what we expected. It was a good battle in the first half which was fairly even.
“Second half we didn’t quite have the same energy or intensity and we lost too many duels. It’s our first loss of the season. We don’t’ want to panic too much about it. But we will learn about it for sure.
“They won the first and second balls. Set pieces, we knew they would be dangerous. I’m sure we’ll see them [Arsenal] again in the later stages of the Champions League.
“They defended man for man pretty much all over the pitch. As I said, I don’t think it’s time to panic. We have played Chelsea, and Paris St-Germain and Arsenal away. We have won the majority of our games.”
Madueke, who returned after an injury layoff in the win over Tottenham on the weekend said: “I couldn’t have picked a better game to score my first Arsenal goal. I am so happy the team got the win as well.
“It’s an incredible statement, but we know the work we put in. We go into these games with every confidence that we are going to win.
“I am a confident player. I don’t like someone telling me I cannot do something. But my teammates and and staff have belief in me.”
The Gunners were alone at the top after Inter Milan slipped to a dramatic 2–1 defeat at Atletico Madrid, where José María Giménez struck an added-time winner.
Liverpool, meanwhile, find themselves in freefall after a record home Champions League defeat.
A 4-1 hammering at home to PSV Eindhoven plunged Arne Slot’s side deeper into the mire and was their ninth defeat in 12 matches in all competitions.
Liverpool’s fragility surfaced early when Virgil van Dijk conceded a penalty that Ivan Perisic converted. Although Dominic Szoboszlai briefly equalised, the defensive structure unravelled after half-time as Guus Til sliced through an exposed back line before substitute Couhaib Driouech struck twice, sending thousands of Liverpool fans streaming for the exits.
With the Reds tumbling to 13th in the standings, the pressure now bears heavily on Slot, who must conjure solutions fast to rescue a rapidly deteriorating campaign.
In Greece, Mbappé produced the most jaw-dropping individual display of the round. The France superstar struck three goals in six minutes and 42 seconds – second only to Mohamed Salah’s Champions League record – before adding a fourth after the break in Real Madrid’s 4-3 victory at Olympiakos. It was his fifth Champions League hat-trick.
Copenhagen’s Viktor Dadason, 17, already one of the youngest scorers in the competition’s history, nodded in another crucial goal in a tense 3-2 win over Kairat Almaty. In Lisbon, 18-year-old Geovany Quenda opened the scoring as Sporting eased past Club Brugge, sharpening anticipation ahead of his upcoming move to Chelsea.
At the other end of the age curve, veteran defender David Luiz scored in Pafos’ 2-2 draw with Monaco, becoming the second-oldest scorer in Champions League history. Monaco had led through Folarin Balogun before an 88th-minute own goal rescued the Cypriots.
In Frankfurt, Atalanta delivered one of the most ruthless bursts of the night, scoring three times in five minutes from the hour mark – Ademola Lookman starting the blitz – to stun Eintracht 3-0.
Tottenham’s night in Paris was frantic but fruitless, falling 5-3 to holders PSG as Vitinha claimed a hat-trick in a match where the French champions’ front line overwhelmed Spurs’ disjointed defence.