Arsenal ease to win in Belgium

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Club Brugge 0 - 3 Arsenal

Noni Madueke struck twice as Arsenal swept past Club Brugge to preserve their perfect Champions League record.

Author | DJ

Stadium | Jan Breydelstadion

Mikel Arteta made five changes after the defeat at Aston Villa and it was one of those introduced who made the early difference. Madueke drifted past a defender before unleashing a fierce effort from 20 yards that clipped the underside of the bar on its way in.

Club Brugge threatened briefly before half-time as Christos Tzolis and Aleksandar Stankovic forced sharp stops from David Raya, but Arsenal reached the interval with their lead intact.

Madueke added his second just after the restart, heading in Martin Zubimendi's precise delivery, before Gabriel Martinelli curled in a fine third midway through the half to seal a comfortable evening.

Arsenal fans and players at full-time

There were further reasons for encouragement

Gabriel Jesus returned after 342 days out with an ACL injury and 16-year-old Marli Salmon was handed a senior debut. Jesus came close to marking the moment with a goal but saw a late attempt from the edge of the box bounce back off the bar.

Arsenal now have 18 points, already surpassing last season's tally needed for a top-eight finish, which puts them in a strong position to avoid February's play-offs and turn their attention towards the last 16.

The reaction of one well-known Arsenal fan blog

A good night really. The two 'second choice' wide players stepped up and scored the goals, two of them genuinely excellent, rotated well enough, kept a clean sheet and we saw the return of Gabriel Jesus after a long time out with injury. Nice little cameo from Nwaneri, and 16 year old debutant!

— arseblog (@arseblog.com) 10 December 2025 at 21:56

Calls for rotation were the correct one

Supporters have been urging Mikel Arteta to give his players a breather amid a growing injury list and a relentless schedule, and against Club Brugge he obliged, making five changes from the side beaten by Aston Villa at the weekend.

Christian Norgaard partnered Piero Hincapie in central defence, the seventh different pairing Arteta has fielded this season, a reminder of the disruption that has shaped much of their campaign.

The display was uneven at times and the match threatened to drift, yet Arsenal hold such a commanding position in the league that the occasional lull mattered little. They weathered a testing spell just before the break and emerged unscathed.

After half-time they imposed themselves with greater authority. Madueke and Martinelli struck to settle the contest and Arsenal saw out the remainder with a composed, professional performance that maintained their strong form in Europe.

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