Ødegaard's late strike wins it for Arsenal on an awkward night in Naples

"That's what we need — players with that mindset to decide the game," the Arsenal manager said, adding that Ødegaard has been getting into those positions far more often in recent weeks.

Arteta also pointed to something less measurable, describing an emotional state in which his captain simply expects the ball to go in, and noting that the relationships around him in the team have changed. Both, he suggested, are feeding the run.

An oddly disjointed performance

For long stretches this was not vintage Arsenal. They were required, at Uefa's insistence, to wear red shorts for the first time since a Premier League match against Watford in 2022 — a detail that would be trivial had the performance not looked similarly out of shape.

The pattern established itself early. Arsenal set up camp in the Napoli half; the hosts looked to break. Kevin De Bruyne, who needs no introduction to Arsenal after a decade at Manchester City, drove through midfield and forced a rare error from David Raya, though the danger was scrambled clear.

At the other end Bukayo Saka produced a spectacular overhead kick that Alex Meret saved. Mikel Merino should have scored when Eberechi Eze headed the ball cleverly across the face of goal. Ben White drilled a shot straight at Meret. Matteo Politano tested Raya again as Napoli kept finding gaps in a defence that is not usually this generous.

Just before half-time Saka blazed over after a fine through ball from Ødegaard. Replays confirmed the assistant had been wrong to raise the flag — the goal, had it been scored, would have stood.

The goal, and a disallowed one

The breakthrough came from two substitutes and a full-back. Christos Tzolis exchanged passes with White and laid the ball into Ødegaard's path. The shot beat Vanja Milinkovic-Savic despite the goalkeeper getting fingertips to it, going in off the post.

Kai Havertz had a goal ruled out for offside in stoppage time, by which stage it did not matter. Noni Madueke, another substitute, should have made the margin more comfortable well before that.

Context on both sides

Arteta has unhappy history here, having been sent off as a player during a 2-0 group-stage defeat in 2013. Arsenal's most recent visit was better: a win under Unai Emery in 2019 that carried them into the Europa League semi-finals.

Napoli, now managed by Max Allegri, have won two Serie A titles since — ending a 33-year wait in 2023 and repeating it two years later — but Europe continues to elude them. They finished 30th in the league phase last season, and Allegri's attempts to rally the support beforehand left visible gaps in the home sections.

Arsenal, meanwhile, arrive at this competition with unfinished business. They became the first side to win all eight league-stage matches last season before losing the final to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties. On this evidence they are not yet playing well. They are, however, winning — which at this stage is the more useful of the two.