Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is delighted that his team have qualified for the next round of the UEFA Champions League with a game to spare in a fantastic fashion. The Gunners, who have only dropped a single game in their first 5 UEFA Champions League group-stage matches, did so against French opponents RC Lens in France.

The French were their opponents on Wednesday at Emirates Stadium for the second leg of the match, and the Gunners left no stone unturned in their revenge at Emirates Stadium.

The North London club scored six in the game, but five of those goals came in the first half, and it was enough to seal the top sports and the knockout stage for Arsenal in their group that also had Sevilla and PSV.

Arsenal sealed the top spot in the group with a single game to spare after their victory, which came hours after PSV’s comeback victory against Sevilla earlier on Wednesday, which the Dutch side won 3-2 earlier that evening.

Arsenal to the game early when Kai Havertz scored in the 13th minute before goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli; there was one more from Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard on the stroke of half-time to make it 5-0 going into the break.

Jorginho’s 86th-minute penalty sealed the win, and the Spanish manager was delighted with the first-half display from his team.

“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. They have to come out. We used the spaces really well. It’s great because the schedule we have at the moment is crazy. We’re already thinking about Wolves in 72 hours. We have to demand more from each other. We’ll have to be well prepared for Wolves.” Arteta said.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu