Arsenal opened their latest Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win over Napoli, but the most telling number was not the score. Mikel Arteta's side produced 26 shots worth 4.05 xG and still needed Martin Ødegaard to settle it late on. His strike, Arsenal's captain hitting from outside the box and finding the net off the post, was his fourth goal in five games this season.

This was Arsenal's first Champions League appearance since last season's final, and Ødegaard again looked like the player making their control count.

Ødegaard is turning pressure into points

Arsenal had most of the game on their terms, but they were drifting toward one of those European away nights that become harder than they should. Then Ødegaard took over the decisive moment himself.

The goal arrived 15 minutes from time, with other reports placing it in the 75th minute, and it matched the broader pattern of his start to the season. Four goals in five matches is a serious return from midfield, especially when the rest of Arsenal's attack left so much on the pitch in Naples.

Matt Verri, quoted by standard.co.uk, wrote: "Martin Odegaard 9

Ran the show in another sublime display. Unplayable at times as he skipped around the third, putting chances on a plate. Then got it done himself with a wonderful strike. Majestic."

That sums up Arsenal's night pretty well. Ødegaard was creating, carrying and then finishing the move that finally spared them a much more frustrating result.

Miguel Delaney, quoted by independent.co.uk, went even further: "Above all – in so many ways – Martin Odegaard. The playmaker has, in the last few weeks, been unrecognisable from last season. And this match-winning goal away to Napoli was the sort of moment so often missing from last season."

There is a bit of flourish in that, but the point holds. Arsenal are getting tangible output from their captain, not just tidy build-up and good touches between the lines.

Arsenal's wastefulness nearly spoiled the night

The other story is harder for Arsenal to ignore. A team that creates 26 shots and 4.05 xG should not need one late hit from distance to get over the line.

Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino both wasted big chances before Ødegaard scored, and Arsenal kept leaving Napoli in the game. The process was good. The finishing was not.

That is why the result feels slightly odd. Arsenal won, and they have now won five straight in all competitions, but this was not a clean attacking performance. It was a dominant one that still required a bailout.

Even some of the player assessments around the forwards reflected that. Verri, again quoted by standard.co.uk, wrote of Viktor Gyokeres: "Otherwise basically anonymous. Not enough movement to find space in the box and the game passed him by. Nine touches in 73 minutes." Other outlets were kinder on the rating, but the criticism of Arsenal's bluntness in central areas fits the match itself.

Napoli's level is open to interpretation. Some coverage framed Max Allegri's side as a club in crisis after a third straight defeat, while others treated them as a weaker version of Napoli without pushing the collapse angle. Either way, Arsenal had more than enough chances to put the game away long before Alex Meret was finally beaten.

A win that flatters nobody but still counts

Arsenal will take the result because European away games do not ask for style points. Still, this was another reminder that their captain is the one finishing the job when the rest of the front line wastes too much.

Ødegaard's form is the big positive. Arsenal's finishing is the warning attached to it. They left Naples with a 1-0 win because their captain produced the one strike nobody else could, 15 minutes from time.

FAQ

Why is Martin Odegaard so important for Arsenal right now?

Odegaard is giving Arsenal the end product they badly needed in Naples. He scored the only goal against Napoli, his fourth in five games this season, and did it on a night when Arsenal created 26 shots and 4.05 xG but still needed one decisive finish.

Did Arsenal play well against Napoli despite only winning 1-0?

Yes, Arsenal controlled the game strongly enough to create 26 shots worth 4.05 xG. The issue was finishing. Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino were among those to miss big chances before Odegaard settled it with a strike from outside the box that went in off the post.

Was Odegaard's goal enough to hide Arsenal's finishing problem?

It rescued the result, but it did not erase the problem. Arsenal won 1-0 and extended their run to five straight wins, yet the wider story in Naples was how many chances they wasted before Odegaard scored 15 minutes from time.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 8 outlets. How we work →