Arsenal beats Lille 3-0 in Champions League; Gyokeres rated worst on pitch

Arsenal defeated Lille 3-0 in a Champions League match at the Emirates Stadium on October 13, 2026, with three goals scored in seven second-half minutes. Jurrien Timber opened the scoring with a lifted finish from Noni Madueke's pass, followed by Eberechi Eze's goal assisted by substitute Bukayo Saka, and Saka himself adding the third after interplay with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz. The victory extends Arsenal's winning streak in the Champions League league phase to 14 games.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made five changes from the previous week's match against Leeds and deployed a triple substitution at half-time, bringing on Saka, Havertz, and Odegaard to alter the game's tempo. In the first half, Arsenal dominated possession but struggled with execution in the final third, with chances from Bruno Guimarães and Eze going unused. Lille offered little attacking threat and did not register a shot on target throughout the match, though substitute Olivier Giroud received a positive reception on his return to the stadium.

Viktor Gyokeres, starting for Arsenal, was substituted after 65 minutes with only 13 touches and zero shots on goal. French media outlet L'Equipe rated Gyokeres the lowest-rated player on the pitch with a score of 2, citing his ineffectiveness despite returning from international duty with Sweden where he had scored four goals in four matches. L'Equipe awarded no Arsenal player a rating higher than 7, with the team's average score of 5.5 contrasting sharply with Lille's average of 3.9. Saka, who came off the bench, was not included in L'Equipe's ratings system for substitutes but made an immediate impact, providing an assist on his first touch and scoring within six minutes.

Bukayo Saka's performance was notable given Arteta's pre-match challenge for him to score "two or three goals per game." Arteta later noted that Saka had been dealing with a minor illness but was keen to contribute. The substitutions underscored Arsenal's squad depth, as the team continued their positive start to the Champions League campaign ahead of a demanding fixture schedule of eight games in 25 days.