Gunners through to Champions League last-16 as Group B winners after stunning first half

Arsenal advanced to the Champions League last-16 as group winners following a 6-0 victory over Lens at the Emirates.

PSV had put the pressure back on the Gunners after their late comeback win over Sevilla in the early kickoff meant Arsenal needed a point to qualify for the knockout rounds.

And they responded emphatically to the call. In fact, Arsenal dismantled their opponents, who had beaten them 2-1 in the reverse fixture in October, in just 13 minutes in the first half.

Kai Havertz (13) started the glut by scoring in his second game in a row, before Gabriel Jesus (21) doubled. Bukayo Saka (23), who has been in fine form in the Champions League this season, bundled home the next, but the best came from Gabriel Martinelli (27).

Martin Odegaard’s (45+1) brilliant strike on the stroke of half-time, whipping home a thunderous volley, may have matched his effort. Jorginho (86) then capped an impressive Arsenal performance with a penalty after European debutant Abduqodir Khusanov was penalized for handball.

With 12 points, the Gunners advance as Group B winners, with PSV joining them in the knockout rounds. They will play each other in the final group game in a fortnight. Lens, meanwhile, has been eliminated from the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta said of his performance after the game, “It was a genuine dream.” We had a chance to qualify today, and we did so convincingly against a very good team. From the start, the team displayed a lot of aggression and determination to win the game.

“It’s fantastic that we can win in this manner, and we demonstrated at home not to concede any goals while scoring a lot, which is a positive factor.” The players must believe we can do it against larger opponents.”

Arsenal took an unassailable lead after a 13-minute blitz at the start of the first half. Takehiro Tomiyasu had already sent several excellent crosses into the area, and the Lens defense nearly dealt with this one.

However, Jesus nodded down the looping ball, and Havertz came in to rifle home past Brice Samba. The goal was upheld despite a brief VAR check for offside.

Bukayo Saka was the creator of the second. He cut in from the right, and it took the Lens defense two attempts to wrestle him off the ball. The ball, however, rolled into Jesus’ path after the second. Before sweeping home, he dummied two defenders.

Saka scored himself three minutes later, marking the fifth anniversary of his Arsenal debut. Samba saved Havertz’s initial shot, but the 22-year-old was in the right place to see the ball hit him on the legs and into the back of the net.

Martinelli was not to be outdone, scoring Arsenal’s fourth goal in the 27th minute. It was a fantastic solo goal, starting with a raking pass from Tomiyasu on the left wing, then driving into the area and firing home.

Between goals four and five, Lens began to find their stride, with the latter coming on the stroke of half-time. Saka’s break was lightning fast, and he fed Tomiyasu on the overlap. Odegaard volleyed home a superb effort to cap a brilliant first half.

Arsenal’s second half was an exercise in game management that they executed flawlessly. Lens fired no shots on goal after the break, as the Gunners maintained their clean sheet.

However, there was a sixth goal after a fairly lengthy VAR review for a penalty. The attention was initially drawn to Khusanov’s unintentional elbow into Martinelli, but it was the ball striking the Lens defender’s arm as he held it across the Arsenal forward’s chest that was penalized for handball.

Jorginho lined up the penalty kick for Arsenal, calmly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way as the Gunners advanced to the last-16 with a game to spare.

“I said at the start that I thought they were going to be big players in this tournament. Nobody wants to play them.

“They clicked tonight, and when they get off to a good start, they’re difficult to beat.” They’ll go far in this tournament, and they’ll be right in the mix for the Premier League title.

“Havertz is a confident player, and he’s confident right now.” He was the best player on the field tonight, in my opinion. He was graceful; he made the correct passes and decisions. He’s a great player. I don’t think he’s in the right position for him, but he’s still a top player.”

“We had the opportunity to qualify, to finish first in our group, and I believe we did so admirably.”

“It has to be [one of the best first-half performances he’s seen], when you score five goals in the first half against a really good side in the Champions League, the boys deserve credit, they were really good.”

“You can get sloppy, and there were times in the second half when you saw different behaviors, but the team stayed focused.” We haven’t conceded a goal in the Champions League at home, which is fantastic.

“We used the spaces really well, we were really efficient and scored some wonderful goals.”

We were fantastic from the start. We go full throttle.

“The team performance was outstanding; now we must keep going because we have another big one on Saturday.”

“When we play at home, our fans are always amazing and push us.” First place is important, so congratulations to the entire team.”