Arsenal break multiple Champions League records after Lens rout

Arsenal have broken multiple Champions League records after thrashing Lens 6-0 at the Emirates Stadium to secure their place in the last 16 as Group B winners.
The Gunners entered their penultimate group fixture needing just a point to qualify for the knockout rounds, and they were wary of the potential threat Lens could pose following their 2-1 defeat to the French outfit in the reverse fixture last month.

However, Mikel Arteta’s side comfortably cruised past Lens on home soil and were four goals ahead before the half-hour mark courtesy of strikes from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal’s four-goal lead inside the first 27 minutes is the joint-fastest an English club has ever scored four in a Champions League fixture, matching the feat set by Manchester United who netted a quadruple of goals in the same period against Brondby in November 1998 en route to winning the competition.

Martin Odegaard then smashed home a first-time volley from 12 yards to add a fifth for Arsenal on the stroke of half time, and as a result, they have become the first English club in Champions League history to lead a game by five or more goals at the interval.

In addition, the Gunners are the first club from any European nation to have as many as five different scorers (excluding own goals) in the first half of a Champions League match.

Arsenal continued to dominate proceedings after the break, but they had to wait until the 86th minute to add a sixth goal when substitute Jorginho slotted home a composed penalty kick after VAR deemed that Abdukodir Khusanov handled inside the area.

A thumping 6-0 win for Arsenal represents the biggest victory by any English club against a French opponent in European competition.

Had the Gunners netted a seventh in the closing stages, they would have equalled their largest-ever Champions League win of 7-0 against Slavia Prague in October 2007.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, a delighted Arteta said: “Today was the day to get it done. We did it in a beautiful way.

“We scored five goals against a really good side [in the first half]. You can become really sloppy. And there were parts of the second half with different behaviours but we stayed really focused.”

Asked about topping Group B with a game to spare, the Spaniard added: “It’s great because the schedule we have at the moment is crazy. We’re already thinking about Wolves [in the Premier League] in 72 hours.

“We have to demand more from each other. We’ll have to be well prepared for Wolves.”

Arsenal will attempt to extend their winning run in all competitions to five matches and maintain their position at the Premier League summit when they welcome Wolves to the Emirates on Saturday.