Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard scored the only goal as the Gunners began their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Napoli in Italy on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s side dominated proceedings at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona but were left frustrated by their failure to convert several opportunities before Odegaard eventually broke the deadlock in the 75th minute.
The Premier League side created a succession of chances, with Arsenal registering 26 shots and an impressive 4.05 expected goals.
Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka both missed good opportunities in the opening half, while Piero Hincapie squandered another clear chance shortly after the restart.
Odegaard finally gave Arsenal the breakthrough after combining with substitute Christos Tzolis in a quick passing move.
The Norway international then struck a low effort from the edge of the box which went in off the post for his fourth goal in five matches this season.
Arsenal had opportunities to put the game beyond Napoli, but substitute Noni Madueke was denied after being played through by Kai Havertz.
Tzolis followed up, only for his effort to be blocked on the line as Napoli survived another scare.
The hosts almost snatched an equaliser late on when former Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne found himself in a promising position.
However, the Belgian chose to cross rather than shoot, allowing Arsenal to hold on for their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions.
The result gives last season’s Champions League runners-up a winning start to their European campaign, although Arteta will be concerned by the number of chances his team failed to convert.
