Arsenal secured a dominant 3-0 win against Lille in the UEFA Champions League.
Photo: Getty Images
The lights of victory shone on us again as we took a stubborn Lille side to the cleaners in the second half, securing a 3-0 win at the Emirates against a team coached by the son of legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti.
In a game that produced plenty of talking points, here are five lessons, moments and tactical details that stood out for us:
The Return of Giroud and the Best Defence in Europe?
Yesterday’s game had so many great moments, but perhaps the one that stood out most came in the 78th minute, when the Emirates rose to applaud a great servant of our club: Olivier Giroud.
The Frenchman once walked and worked on our grass, scoring 105 goals in 253 appearances while winning six trophies — three FA Cups and three FA Community Shields.
Giroud deserved the ovation for his dedicated service, stunning goals and professionalism during his time here, and yesterday’s moment is surely one that will stay with him for a long time.
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His introduction had little effect on us, however, as our defence performed brilliantly and refused to give the former World Cup winner a sight of goal.
Giroud had just five touches, completed 50% of his passes, won two of his three duels and failed to register a shot during his 15 minutes on the pitch, largely due to the excellent nature of our ever-improving defence.
We kept our second clean sheet in two Champions League matches this season and our sixth in 10 games across all competitions.
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Impressively, we didn’t just keep a clean sheet — we completely nullified Lille’s attack and prevented them from registering a single shot on target.
We arguably have the best defence in Europe right now, and that is a sign of potentially great things to come this season.
The Consistent Inconsistency of Madueke’s Decision-Making in Front of Goal
On his day, Noni Madueke is a very good player. On his off days, however, it becomes clear why he is not yet considered a guaranteed starter in this team.
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Christos Tzolis’ injury presented the Englishman with an opportunity to step up, as we analysed last week.
Against Lille, Madueke started his second match in a row, this time not on the left wing but in his favoured position on the right.
He may have had a decent game yesterday, but it could have been a very good one considering the promising positions he found himself in.
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None of his five corners found their intended target, and for us, an inaccurate corner is a big deal considering how dangerous we are from set-pieces, particularly against non-English opposition.
Most of his crosses were also inaccurate.
Only one of his 15 crosses found its target during his 65 minutes on the pitch.
His reluctance to take on Lille left-back Romain Perraud was another surprise.
Madueke may have assisted the opening goal and shown flashes of his usual flicks and tricks, but he ultimately flattered to deceive. He won no fouls, recorded a 33% successful dribble rate, had one blocked shot, completed four of his 16 passes into the box and five of his 17 progressive passes.
More was expected from him because, in the absence of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, he was expected to carry more of the creative responsibility.
His replacement, Bukayo Saka, did not take long to make his presence felt, scoring and assisting within just six minutes.
Madueke could start again against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, potentially this time on the left wing, and it may be one of his final Premier League starts for a while if he does not improve the inconsistency in his decision-making in the attacking third.
The Magic Wand of Arteta’s Substitutions: Have We Become a Second-Half Team?
Last season, it was set-pieces. This season, Mikel Arteta appears to have found another magic wand: substitutes scoring and assisting.
Across our last six matches, Arsenal substitutes have combined for six goals and assists after coming off the bench.
Having options on the bench is one thing. Knowing how and when to use them is another — and Arteta is excelling at both.
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Yesterday, his substitutes produced three goal contributions within six minutes of entering the pitch.
Bukayo Saka scored and assisted, while Kai Havertz also provided an assist.
With the season still in its infancy, perhaps Arsenal have found another weapon that could win us valuable points from the bench.
Winning matches through your substitutes is certainly a positive, but have we become too reliant on the second half?
We started the season as fast starters, and there is no better example than Riccardo Calafiori’s goal after just 23 seconds against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
We then scored first-half goals against Coventry City and Chelsea, but since then, the majority of our goals have arrived after the break.
We have scored seven first-half goals in 10 matches and double that amount in the second half.
Failing to find the net in the first half in five of our last six matches is not an encouraging trend.
Even more concerning is that the only first-half goal we have scored during that run came against Championship side Ipswich Town.
Perhaps we need Arteta’s magic wand to work in this area as well over the coming matches.
Mikel Arteta, over to you.
Look away, Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich.
The Rice-Guimarães Pivot — a Sign of What Is to Come?
The first time we saw a Declan Rice-Bruno Guimarães pivot, Arsenal were 3-0 down against Brighton by the time the Brazilian was substituted in the 60th minute.
The partnership raised immediate concerns because both players naturally want to advance with the ball, which can leave a huge space directly in front of the centre-backs.
That was exactly what happened against Brighton.
Declan Rice combines athleticism, ground-eating recovery runs and dynamic ball-carrying, with his natural instinct often taking him forward.
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Bruno Guimarães dictates play through press-resistant control and high-tempo distribution, while also looking to advance into goalscoring positions around the edge of the box.
Both players share a relentless hunger for the ball. Both are elite ball-winners who refuse to be passive, thrive in physical duels and possess a natural instinct to drive forward from deeper areas rather than simply recycling possession sideways.
As good as those qualities are, they can also create problems, particularly when we are chasing a goal.
Usually, when a midfield pivot contains two progressive ball-carriers, one of the full-backs will move into midfield in an inverted role.
Timber is not naturally suited to that role, while Calafiori is also very attack-minded.
Against Brighton, that gave our opponents space to exploit as Rice, Guimarães and Calafiori all followed their instincts to push forward while Arsenal searched for a way back into the game.
Against Lille, however, the Rice-Guimarães pivot looked different because Myles Lewis-Skelly started at left-back.
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Whenever Rice and Guimarães advanced, Lewis-Skelly inverted into midfield to protect the space they vacated, preventing Lille from exploiting the centre.
It effectively became a midfield diamond, with Lewis-Skelly sitting deepest, Rice and Guimarães operating either side of him and Merino at the tip.
That allowed Eze and Madueke to hug the touchline, while Gyökeres pinned Lille’s two centre-backs.
The result was that Lille found it extremely difficult to progress the ball and ultimately failed to register a shot on target.
The system worked because Lewis-Skelly started at left-back.
With Calafiori our first-choice option there and Guimarães proving highly effective as an impact substitute — scoring two winning goals in our last three Premier League matches — we may not see the Rice-Guimarães pivot against Nottingham Forest unless Lewis-Skelly starts again.
That would, of course, mean sacrificing some of Calafiori’s attacking and defensive qualities.
A good problem for Mikel Arteta to have.
The Return of Peak Bukayo Saka — and How Arteta Is Helping
The return of the 2023/24 version of Bukayo Saka is slowly unfolding before our eyes.
That season, Saka registered 20 goals and 14 assists across 47 appearances.
Four goals and one assist in nine matches this season is an encouraging start.
Last season, 11 goals and seven assists in 49 appearances represented a disappointing return by his standards, despite some injury setbacks.
Arsenal won the Premier League and reached the UEFA Champions League final, but when the 30-man shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d’Or was released, Saka’s name was absent after a season in which he was not consistently the decisive player Arsenal needed him to be.
Perhaps missing out on recognition among the world’s top 30 players has given Saka an extra point to prove this season, with his form for both club and country already impressive.
Against Lille yesterday, it took him only six minutes to score and assist against a stubborn side.
Mikel Arteta has continued to push him behind the scenes and encourage him to take greater responsibility both on and off the pitch, with Saka now one of the prominent leaders and vice-captain figures within the squad’s leadership group.
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Part of that responsibility has included spending more time working on set-pieces, including free-kicks and penalties, as well as his crossing and one-on-one situations.
That extra responsibility already appears to be paying off for Saka, Arteta and Arsenal.
If you wrote Bukayo Saka off after last season, perhaps it is time to think again.
This season, he looks poised to showcase his quality once more, push for a place among the 2027 Ballon d’Or nominees and, most importantly, help fire Arsenal towards further success in England and Europe.
Peak Bukayo Saka may be returning before our eyes.
As expected, full-backs across England and Europe will not enjoy the prospect.
It is music to our ears.
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