Napoli's Champions League campaign began with a defeat. Arsenal won 1-0 at the Maradona thanks to a superb second-half finish from Martin Odegaard, after a match dominated by the English side.
The match began without Noa Lang, who was ruled out for disciplinary reasons. Napoli tried to make an impact in the quarter-hour mark with Kevin De Bruyne, who looked for a long-range solution: Raya was alert and blocked centrally. In the 22nd minute, Meret saved the Azzurri with a superb save. The goalkeeper stretched and lifted Merino's close-range header over the crossbar, following a pass from Eze's aerial pass.
Arsenal came close to taking the lead again in the final minutes of the first half. In the 45th minute, Saka received the ball in the box from Odegaard, but from a good position, fired over. The scoreline went into halftime at 0-0. The second half began with a change in goal for Napoli: Meret, struggling with a muscle injury, was replaced by Milinkovic-Savic.
In the 50th minute, the visitors squandered another huge opportunity. Odegaard played a pass into the box for White, who headed it to Hincapie. The defender, just steps from goal, fired a left-footed shot into the sky.
Arsenal, however, continued to press and scored on the half-hour mark. Odegaard received the ball on the edge of the box and with a fine left-footed shot beat Milinkovic-Savic, hitting the post and then slotting home to make it 1-0.
Napoli were in danger again in the 40th minute. Milinkovic-Savic parried Madueke's shot with his feet, then Marin blocked Tzolis's right-footed shot with his body, saving the Azzurri from doubling their lead.
Arteta's team held onto their lead late on, without conceding any clear chances, and took home three crucial points. Napoli, however, began their European adventure with a stumble in front of their home crowd. The Azzurri will return to the Champions League on October 13th, away to Villarreal.
