Plenty has been made of Arsenal’s apparent need to sign a new striker in recent days.
Supporter sentiments are summed up succinctly by a new mural en route to the Emirates Stadium that depicts co-chairman Josh Kroenke with the tagline: ‘Time to splash some cash, Josh.’
Yet Kai Havertz, the man Mikel Arteta entrusted to lead the line for his team this season, notched his 14th of the season here last night. That’s some going.
Indeed, there are those at Arsenal who will argue the club’s requirement for a new centre-forward isn’t as pressing as the naysayers will have you believe.
To that end, Havertz’s numbers make for compelling reading.
Here at the Emirates, the Germany international notched Arsenal’s second in a crucial 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb which virtually secured their automatic passage into the Champions League knockout rounds.
Declan Rice scored his first Champions League goal to put Arsenal on the verge of qualification for the last-16
Kai Havertz, the man so often trusted to lead the line, headed in his 14th of the season
Martin Odegaard put the icing on the cake at the end of the game as he poked in the third
With all that said, it is no secret that Arsenal are working actively in the market with a view to signing a new forward this month.
Benjamin Sesko? Alexander Isak? Matheus Cunha?
Whether Arsenal can successfully land one of their leading targets remains to be seen. Regardless, any new addition will have his work cut out to better Havertz’s strike rate.
‘[Havertz’s stats] shows us the perspective against what the reality is,’ said Arteta, intriguingly.
Indeed, the former Chelsea star was at the heart of his team’s success here as Arsenal overcame the disappointment of dropping two points against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Time will tell how costly throwing away that 2-0 lead becomes in a Premier League campaign that has been beset by setbacks.
Thankfully, their form in the Champions League has been rather more consistent and it will take a near impossible turn of events in the final round of group fixtures for Arsenal not to secure passage into the final stages.
Their night started with a bang; ahead inside two minutes – Declan Rice hammering home on the half-volley after Kai Havertz cushioned Gabriel Martinelli’s square pass.
Arsenal’s Champions League form has been more consistent than their Premier League efforts
Fabio Cannavaro was taking charge of his first game as boss of the visiting side on Wednesday
Soon after his goal Rice, whose strike was his first in the Champions League, was pelted with plastic cups from the travelling supporters as he took Arsenal’s first corner of night. You’d imagine they weren’t offering the midfielder celebratory champagne.
The expression on Fabio Cannarvaro’s was a picture, as he blustered out his cheeks as if to say ‘this could be a long night’.
Indeed, Gabriel Magalhaes should have notched the second in the 15th minute from – inevitably – a corner kick, but the defender’s towering header bounced wide.
Predictably, Arsenal’s set pieces caused Dinamo problems throughout the first half.
But then Martin Baturina caught a quick sight of Arsenal’s goal in the 32nd minute after Jakub Kiwior’s dalliance in possession before Jurrien Timber was next to be caught inside his own half to again leave his team-mates to ride to the rescue.
And all of a sudden, a night that appeared to be running smoothly had started to feel rather uncomfortable for Arsenal.
You wonder what William Saliba, sat on Arsenal’s bench as he recovers from a minor hamstring strain, made of those late first-half errors.
Arsenal’s defence is never quite the same without Saliba’s brilliance, their shoddy end to the opening 45 minutes last night a case in point.
Arteta hopes he can have the France defender available for the game versus Wolves this weekend. It won’t be a minute soon enough for Arteta.
Ethan Nwaneri also made his return from injury, offering Arsenal a much-needed boost
Dinamo were bight after the half-time break but Odegaard (left) scored late on in stoppage time
After his side’s dreadful start, Cannavaro left the field at half-time with hope intact.
Arteta, while his team were ahead, would have been uneasy. They enjoyed 61 percent of the ball in the first half but mustered just two shots on target.
Raheem Sterling and Timber were booked in quick succession at the start of the second half to add to Arteta’s concern.
Dinamo were bright after the restart; stringing passes together and finding clever combinations to bypass Arsenal’s midfield.
You got the impression the visitor’s were sensing something more.
Arteta sensed it, too, making his first substitutions in just the 58th minute – Thomas Partey and fit-again Ethan Nwaneri coming on for Timber and Sterling, respectively.
Nwaneri’s introduction, in particular, generated deafening noise from the home supporters.
Indeed, Arsenal were in need of a lift here as they let their early dominance slip.
Much has been made of Arsenal’s need for a striker but Havertz again showed his ability in front of goal
Rice was pelted with cups and objects from the visiting Dinamo Zagreb supporters
Finally, in the 66th minute, the home side notched their second to settle any niggling anxieties.
The ball into the box from Martinelli was a peach, the header from Havertz was on the money.
Arsenal surrendered a two goal advantage on Saturday, but there was no chance of that. here.
Rice missed a glorious opportunity with a close range effort to score his second of the night before captain Martin Odegaard completed the scoring in injury time.
