Three names, and not one of them under 30. Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott are the only Arsenal players who have scored more Champions League goals than Bukayo Saka, and Saka turned 25 last month.
He got there by cutting in from the right at the Emirates and finishing Kai Havertz’s lay-off in the 71st minute, the third of three Arsenal goals that landed inside seven minutes and seventeen seconds. Jurriën Timber had opened the scoring in the 64th minute and Eberechi Eze added the second three minutes later, with Saka setting up Eze before scoring himself.
Henry, Van Persie, Walcott, Saka
The 14th goal moved Saka past Fabregas and Ljungberg, who are tied on 13 Champions League goals apiece in Arsenal shirts. He now sits fourth on the club’s all-time list in the competition:
- Thierry Henry: 35
- Robin van Persie: 18
- Theo Walcott: 15
- Bukayo Saka: 14
Across all European competitions the picture tightens further. Arsenal counted Saka’s strike as his 19th European goal for the club, with only Henry ahead of him. He has 9 Champions League assists as well, trailing only Henry (16) and Fabregas (14) on that list, from 31 appearances in the competition.
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A perfect start to the league phase
Lille arrived in north London with no points from their opening match against Real Betis and left with none either. Arsenal, by contrast, have a maximum six points from two games and a +4 goal difference, sharing top spot in the league phase table with Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon.
The Lille win was also Arsenal’s 14th consecutive victory in the Champions League league phase. They have not lost a group-stage or league-phase game since a November 2024 defeat at Inter Milan.
Mikel Arteta had made five changes to his starting line-up and sent Saka, Havertz and captain Martin Ødegaard on together just after the hour. Within eight minutes the match was over.
Arteta pointed to the substitutes afterwards.
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“The ones that finish the game are extraordinary. They increase the intensity, the quality and we suffocate them more and more and more.”
Bayern Munich next
Arsenal’s next Champions League fixture is away to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, 21 October. Before that they travel to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.
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