December 11, (THEWILL) — Arsenal extended their perfect Champions League record to six wins from six with a dominant 3-0 victory over Club Brugge at Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday evening. Noni Madueke scored twice and Gabriel Martinelli added a third to keep the Gunners firmly on track for automatic qualification to the knockout stages.
The England winger opened the scoring in remarkable fashion midway through the first half, driving forward before firing an exceptional 25-yard effort into the top-right corner that left goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel helpless. Martin Odegaard had already seen his fierce shot parried and Piero Hincapie had struck the base of the right-post before Madueke delivered his stunning breakthrough.
Madueke doubled the advantage just two minutes into the second period, heading home Martin Zubimendi’s deep left-wing delivery to give Arsenal complete control. Martinelli then produced a moment of brilliance, bending a sublime effort into the top-right corner to effectively settle the contest.
Ben White had earlier forced Van den Heuvel into a strong save with a thunderous header, whilst Madueke also drew another fine stop from the Belgian goalkeeper with a curling attempt before his second goal. The visitors controlled proceedings throughout and rarely looked troubled by their Belgian opponents.
Gabriel Jesus made an emotional return after 332 days out with injury, coming off the bench and hitting the crossbar late in the match. Ethan Nwaneri also tested Van den Heuvel twice during stoppage time in a comfortable evening’s work for the north London side.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
