Arsenal vs Lille player ratings after Timber and Saka change the game

Arsenal beat Lille 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, but they needed more than an hour to make the breakthrough. Jurriën Timber finally cracked it with the opener, and Bukayo Saka finished the night with a goal and an assist after coming off the bench. That kept Arsenal's perfect Champions League start intact and turned a flat contest into a comfortable one.

Timber breaks the deadlock

Timber was the player who changed the mood. The opener came after 64 minutes in Foot Mercato's timing, while Standard put the breakthrough after the hour mark, which is close enough for the main point, Arsenal had spent long stretches without finding a way through. Once Timber scored, the game opened up quickly.

The finish fit the rest of his performance. Matt Verri of the Evening Standard called it a "Sublime finish, dinked over the goalkeeper to open the scoring", adding that Timber had already been a threat in behind Lille's defence and solid at the other end too. He was not just a scorer, he was one of the reasons Arsenal kept pushing the visitors back.

Saka's bench impact

Saka's cameo was the other major swing. He came on and immediately affected both late goals, first setting up Eberechi Eze for Arsenal's second and then scoring the third himself with a composed finish. That was his fourth goal of the season, and it underlined how much more direct Arsenal became once the substitutes arrived.

Matt Verri's verdict on the substitute was just as strong. He said Saka "Fired Arsenal into life immediately after coming on" and described it as an "Electric cameo". [Mikel Arteta] is not the focus here, but the pattern is obvious enough, Arsenal did not need a reshuffle so much as a lift, and Saka supplied it.

Lille offered very little after the break. They failed to register a single shot on target, and their xG finished at 0.135. Arsenal controlled 58% of possession, which fits the feeling of a match that was tight for an hour before the home side took charge.

The clean sheet and the scoreline both look comfortable in the end, but the useful detail is when the game actually turned. Timber started it, Saka finished it, and Arsenal left with two wins from two in Europe before the next round of Champions League fixtures.