Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was reportedly left furious with three of his players during the Gunners’ 1-0 Champions League victory over Napoli in Naples on Wednesday.
Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Christos Tzolis were the players at the centre of Arteta’s frustration, with the manager reportedly unhappy with their defensive efforts after they came on during the second half. The incident was highlighted by TNT Sports co-commentator Lucy Ward.
Arteta’s reaction came despite Arsenal producing a dominant performance at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The visitors controlled much of the contest and created several opportunities, but their failure to convert chances kept Napoli in the game.
Martin Ødegaard eventually settled the contest in the 75th minute with a superb strike from outside the penalty area. The Arsenal captain’s goal continued his impressive start to the season, having now scored four times in his last five appearances.
Arteta later praised Ødegaard’s growing influence, saying: “Martin is contributing goals. That is obviously impacting results which is what we want from our attacking players, to be decisive, and certainly he was that today.”
The narrow scoreline, however, did not fully reflect Arsenal’s dominance. Opta recorded Arsenal at 4.05 expected goals compared with Napoli’s 0.22, underlining how many opportunities the visitors created.
The victory is significant for Arsenal as they look to improve on last season’s Champions League campaign, when they reached the final before losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties. The Gunners have now made a winning start to their 2026-27 European campaign, while Arteta’s emphasis on defensive discipline remains a key part of their pursuit of Champions League success.
