Kai Havertz set one up then scored himself as Arsenal all but sealed their spot in the Champions League last 16 with a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
The Gunners now sit third, three points and a healthy goal difference buffer ahead of ninth-placed Aston Villa in the Champions League table with one game remaining, which means they are set to skip February’s play-off round and will resume the competition a round later in March.
Although 10 teams will start the final round of group matches within three points of the Gunners, Arsenal’s +12 goal difference should be sufficient to see them through even if they lose next week to Girona.
So while Arsenal do still need at least a point to be mathematically certain of progression, only some very dramatic scorelines would demote them out of the top eight.
Rice’s second-minute thumper – his first Champions League goal – from Havertz’s lay-off provided the perfect start for Arsenal on the way to three points, as the Gunners dominated a game in which they would not concede a single shot on target.
Declan Rice fired Arsenal ahead
Arsenal should have put more in the Dinamo net in the first half with Gabriel missing the best chance from close range. “It’s an absolute sitter,” said Tim Sherwood on Soccer Special.
But just as the Emirates was getting nervous due to the one-goal buffer, Havertz headed home a wicked delivery from Gabriel Martinelli to double the advantage.
Kai Havertz scored their second goal
It was not only goals in back-to-back home games for the German, but also the 500th goal Arsenal have scored under Mikel Arteta.
And with the game going into stoppage time, substitute Leandro Trossard’s cross found Martin Odegaard to tap home from close range – the Arsenal captain scoring his first goal from open play for club or country since last April.
The win means Arsenal can go to their final Champions League game away at lowly Girona next week with little riding on it.
Who would Arsenal play currently?
Arsenal are currently in third place which means if they stayed in this position come the end of the league phase next Wednesday night, they go straight into the round of 16 and face the winners of the play-off match between 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th.
The teams currently in those positions are Brest (13th), Borussia Dortmund (14th), PSV Eindhoven (19th) and Club Brugge (20th).
Why does Arsenal’s exact position matter?
Within the top eight slots, the higher a team finishes within each of the groups that qualify, the better their route – on paper – to the later stages of the tournament will be.
If a team finishes first or secondthey will skip the knockout playoffs and play one of the winners of the matches between the 17th/18th and 15th/16th seeds in the round of 16.
However, if a team finishes seventh or eighththey will skip the knockout playoffs and play one of the winners of the matches between the 9th/10th and 23rd/24th seeds in the round of 16.
When are the knock-out draws?
To determine who plays who in the knockout rounds, there will be two draws after the league phase.
The first draw on Friday January 31 at 11am will determine which of the two options each team will get in the knockout playoff. For example, a team finishing 13th will find out whether they are playing against the team finishing 19th or 20th.
Seeded teams (9th-16th) will have the second leg at home and those play-off round matches take place on February 11/12 and February 18/19.
-Teams seeded from 1st to 8th will have to wait until Friday February 21 to find out their opponents.
That draw will then determine who they face in the round of 16, and ultimately map out their full path to the final.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout fixtures?
- Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
Analysis: Could midfield goals crucial for Arsenal?
We’re into the final two weeks of the January transfer window and the striker is still not there for Arsenal. Benjamin Sesko is staying at RB Leipzig, according to his current manager, Wolves are adamant that Matheus Cunha is not going anywhere.
Unless a dramatic turn of events emerges, Arsenal face the real prospect of not boosting their front line for the season run-in. So how do they react? Goals from midfield could be the answer.
Declan Rice’s first Champions League goal harked memories of the back-end of last season, when his impressive late runs into the box and finishes to match helped Arsenal come within two goals of the title. “His intent, his purpose, especially attacking the positions he’s taking, how he’s driving with the ball, there’s another bite to his game,” said Mikel Arteta.
Meanwhile, there was a nice moment for Martin Odegaard who ended a near 300-day wait for a goal from open play for club and country. “We can see how much it meant to him,” added Arteta. “Hopefully it’s going to happen more often.”
Arsenal may need it to. Two seasons ago, Odegaard, Gabriel Martnelli and Bukayo Saka all got at least 14 Premier League goals, which boosted their title charge. If the Gunners want to be part of another one, they may need that as a minimum.
Arteta: Arsenal made a massive step
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
“Very happy overall. It’s a massive step, what we’ve done tonight. It’s put us in a really nice position before we play the last game in Girona.
“Scoring three goals creating plenty of chances and dominating the game. And not conceding a shot, and another clean sheet at home. Overall, we’re really happy.
“It’s really good, we made certain changes of freshness to give minutes to certain players who fully deserved them as well. We had some setbacks yesterday with the players we could use tonight. Three of them were on the bench but not ready to be used. Good that we won it, now let’s go to Wolves.”
Cannavaro: We cannot compare to Arsenal
Dinamo Zagreb manager Fabio Cannavaro:
“The result, 3-0, is never good. But I asked them to work together, to stay involved in the game for 90 minutes. Conceding after two or three minutes made it very tough after. It wasn’t easy, the second half we tried to change something and it much was better.”
On Dinamo having the same number of points as Manchester City, Cannavaro said: “Do you want to put me under pressure? We need to try to do our best [to qualify]. We play a home game against AC Milan and we need to try to win because we want to win for our supporters.
“They deserve to celebrate it sometimes. They are working really hard and I hope they can achieve something nice.
“Always facing a team like Arsenal is not easy. Even more because the leagues are different. We’re talking about a Premier League club and a Premier League team.
“We try to adapt our strategy, but its’ not enough sometimes. It’s about technical and physical. We cannot compare.”
