7M - Kai Havertz Nets First Goal of the Season as Arsenal Power Past Kairat to Claim Champions League League Phase Top Spot

Arsenal’s push for the Premier League title may be showing faint signs of faltering, but the Gunners remain an unstoppable force in the Champions League. An eighth consecutive victory saw Mikel Arteta’s side make history as the first team to seal a perfect 100% record in the league phase since the format’s introduction last season – with only a late consolation goal in stoppage time robbing them of the feat of winning every fixture by a two-goal margin or more.

Whether this dominant European form will translate to lifting a trophy in a competition Arsenal infamously have never won, and in which they’ve reached just a single final, remains to be seen. Yet even fielding a rotated lineup – a further showcase of the impressive squad depth at Arteta’s disposal – Arsenal were never in real danger of failing to see off Kairat, the bottom-placed side in the group. This was true even when the Kazakh champions equalised following an early strike from Viktor Gyökeres, and the Gunners eased to victory to cap their flawless league phase campaign.

The £64m striker Gyökeres endured another frustrating night in front of goal, somehow failing to add to his tally despite being presented with numerous scoring opportunities after his early opener. The same could not be said for Kai Havertz, who shone in his first start for nearly a year, a layoff brought on by a string of injury woes. The Germany forward scored Arsenal’s second goal, and also set up Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli for goals either side of his own strike, helping the Gunners assert their dominance before the half-time break. Havertz was taken off at the interval with the game already firmly in Arsenal’s grasp, and his return to full fitness and form will prove pivotal as the club’s quest for a historic quadruple remains very much alive.

“He’s going to bring so much to us,” Arteta said of Havertz post-match. “The team knows just how important Kai is for us, and how he can lift the team to a different level. So for him to go out there and do that today, after being out for such a long time, is incredibly impressive.”

Asked if Arsenal had sent out a statement to the rest of the competition by winning all eight of their league phase games, Arteta added: “The players need to recognise this achievement, and take even more belief from it in what we’re capable of doing.”

Arsenal’s stellar run in this season’s Champions League was honoured in the pre-match programme, which featured imagery from each of their seven prior victories over European heavyweights including Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan. Unsurprisingly, Arteta opted for a full 11-man rotation from the side that suffered a disheartening defeat to Manchester United at the weekend, with Havertz fielded in an attacking midfield role behind lone striker Gyökeres.

Kairat headed into the clash without Dastan Satpaev, the 17-year-old prodigy set to join Chelsea later this year, who was ruled out through injury; the Kazakh side also named just five outfield players on their substitute bench. Their Champions League campaign has been a gruelling one, with the team travelling more than 50,000 miles since the competition kicked off in July, and they had picked up just a solitary point in the league phase heading into the game against Arsenal. Even so, a sizeable contingent of Kairat fans made the trip, and made their voices heard at every opportunity throughout the 90 minutes.

Most of those travelling supporters would have feared a heavy defeat when Gyökeres slammed home a strike from the edge of the penalty area inside the first two minutes, teed up by a brilliant through-ball from Havertz. But Arsenal’s lead was short-lived: Riccardo Calafiori, back in the starting XI after a month on the sidelines with a hip injury, was adjudged to have pulled Jorginho’s shirt inside the box, and the Kairat captain slotted home the resulting penalty – a goal met with loud cheers from the visiting fans inside the stadium.

That would prove the height of Kairat’s fortunes until the final moments of the match, however. Havertz restored Arsenal’s advantage with a superb individual goal, latching onto a long pass from Ben White before cutting inside the Kairat defence and curling a shot past goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov. Gyökeres, who appeared determined to make his mark after being overlooked in favour of Gabriel Jesus for the Gunners’ clashes with Inter and United, could have bagged a first-half hat-trick but spurned two golden opportunities. The Sweden striker thought he had finally grabbed his second goal when he got a touch on Havertz’s cross – a ball already heading for the net – only for Martinelli to cheekily steal the finish at the goal line, notching up his sixth goal of this season’s Champions League in the process. For Kairat, the game was slipping away fast.

Fortunately for the Kazakh side, Havertz was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard, who looked to keep up the Gunners’ attacking intensity: his long-range strike was palmed away to safety by Anarbekov, before he directed a header straight at the Kairat goalkeeper. Jesus came on in place of Gyökeres with 20 minutes remaining, and had a goal disallowed for an offside call. Arteta also handed senior debuts to midfielder Ife Ibrahim – who signed his first professional contract with the club earlier this week – and winger Brando Bailey-Joseph, giving the young talents a taste of Champions League action.

Kairat’s fans were still cheering Ricardinho’s late stoppage-time header long after the final whistle, a goal that doubled the tally of goals Arsenal have conceded in the entire Champions League league phase. For Arteta and his side, though, this routine win was merely the end of one chapter; far sterner challenges await in the knockout stages of Europe’s top club competition.