Arsenal make it two wins from two in Champions League with victory over Lille

Arsenal continued their perfect start to the Champions League campaign with a 3-0 win over Lille at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

All three goals came after half-time, with Jurrien Timber opening the scoring in the 64th minute. Eberechi Eze added a second only three minutes later before Bukayo Saka completed the victory in the 71st minute.

The result lifts Arsenal to third in the league standings with six points from their opening two matches. They began the campaign with a 1-0 victory against Napoli.

Lille remain 32nd and without a point after suffering their second defeat. They had previously been beaten 3-2 by Real Betis.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta dedicated the victory to the club’s late life President Ken Friar, who died this week at the age of 92.

“That’s for him. I’m sure that he has enjoyed the win, the manner that the team played. I know that he was very, very proud about the position of the club right now, the players that we have and the unity and the connection that we have built,” said Arteta.

The Spaniard said he had received a call from Richard Garlick informing him of Friar’s death when he woke up.

“It’s a really sad day. When I woke up, I received a call from Richard Garlick to let me know that Ken had passed away. I had the honour to meet him, to spend time with him, to learn from him.

“His legacy is enormous; it was an absolute pleasure to spend time with him. He’s going to be missed, but the good thing is that he’s left a legacy. He’s going to live forever with this football club and everybody that has come across him.

“He never wanted to take credit for anything. He was super focused and thorough in a lot of things. He could joke; the energy that he had at his age was something incredible and that’s what made him so special, unique.”