Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal should have beaten Napoli by a much bigger margin after opening their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory in Italy.
Martin Odegaard scored the only goal at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, but the final score did not reflect Arsenal’s dominance.
Arteta’s side created a string of opportunities before their captain finally broke through in the 75th minute, as detailed in our Napoli 0-1 Arsenal match report.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the victory, Arteta said Arsenal fully deserved the three points but should have made the result considerably more comfortable.
Arteta praises ‘superb’ Arsenal display
Arteta was particularly pleased with the way his players approached a difficult European away fixture.
“The performance probably doesn’t reflect the result.”
The Arsenal boss felt the scoreline “should have been much bigger”, describing his team’s performance as “superb”.
He also praised Arsenal’s attitude, courage and ability to break Napoli down, while admitting it was frustrating to see so many clear opportunities go unfinished.
Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie were among those who passed up excellent openings before Odegaard eventually made the breakthrough.
The Norwegian’s winner continued an excellent individual run, with Odegaard now scoring four times in his last five appearances. His importance within Arteta’s side goes beyond the armband, with ReadArsenal’s Arsenal captaincy guide covering his wider leadership role.
Arteta was also pleased to see his substitutes influence the contest.
Christos Tzolis provided the decisive assist after coming from the bench, reinforcing the depth available as Arsenal negotiate their 2026/27 Champions League schedule.
The only frustration for Arteta was the finishing.
Arsenal ultimately escaped without being punished, but his assessment makes clear that greater ruthlessness will be required as the level of opposition increases.
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