Arsenal showed strength in depth in Lille win, but Gyökeres is a concern

LONDON -- If Arsenal's starters don't get you, the finishers probably will. Lille were firmly in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League game for an hour or so and then a three-goal blitz in seven minutes settled things emphatically. There were similarities here to last weekend's 2-1 win in the Premier League over Leeds United. The visitors were the better side, but Arteta made a triple substitution shortly after Arsenal took the lead, and his team went on to win. Lille were not as front-footed as Leeds, but they carried a threat on the break and Arsenal were struggling to break them down until Jurriën Timber marked his first home start since March with a clever touch in the box to free himself and dink a delightful finish over Lille goalkeeper Berke Özer from a tight angle. Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz were already stripped off and ready to come on. Arteta could have thought twice about making the changes given the deadlock was broken, but he went through with it anyway. "I'm going to do it more now," he joked afterwards. "I felt it was the right moment to do it, the way the game was panning out, the way the opponent was behaving as well, that we needed in those moments, in those spaces, different kinds of players, but that's it. "Credit to the staff and obviously the ones that come in to create those moments." "Is it about momentum as well? Yes, it is," he continued. The combination of the dam bursting and the fresh legs overwhelmed the Ligue 1 side to win 3-0. Timber won the ball back before Ødegaard and Saka combined for Eberechi Eze to sidefoot the ball home for his first goal of the season. Ødegaard then found Havertz, who demonstrated his game intelligence in recognizing nobody was in a central position as he burst towards the byline, instead cutting it back for Saka to score his 19th European goal for Arsenal, more than anyone else for the club aside from Thierry Henry (42). The Gunners continue their perfect start to the group stage ahead of next week's testing trip to Bayern Munich, where they will likely need to start better than they have done of late to ensure that record continues. Nobody can argue with the end product -- that's nine wins from 10 matches so far this season including August's Community Shield victory over Manchester City -- but if there is an issue to be found, it is perhaps in the need for those "finishers" -- Arteta's preferred moniker for substitutes -- to be so decisive. He made five changes here, including Viktor Gyökeres leading the line instead of Havertz, with Mikel Merino operating as a No. 10 in place of Ødegaard. Noni Madueke switched to the right to replace Saka, with Eze on the left in a remodeled front four. The results were inconclusive. Lille combined diligent defending with energetic counter-attacking to cause Arsenal problems, most obviously when Ayase Ueda beat David Raya from inside the box, but his goal was disallowed for a tight offside call. Gyökeres registered just 12 touches, completed six passes from eight attempts and no shots. He was a 65th-minute departure for Havertz, and no player on either team had been involved in the game less. Arsenal possess tremendous depth all over the pitch -- their "second-choice" back four when everybody is fit, Ben White, Ezri Konsa, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié, is an embarrassment of riches -- but the drop in the No. 9 position remains a concern. Havertz is integral in and out of possession for Arsenal, but it also remains true that Arteta felt they needed an upgrade in that position in 2025, which triggered the pursuit of Gyökeres in the first place. They also were hopeful of luring Julián Álvarez from Atlético Madrid this summer, but after that possibility disappeared, they opted to rely on Havertz, Gyökeres and Merino, whose emergence as a potent goalscorer for Arsenal and Spain is one of the biggest surprises of the last year or more. It may be enough to win the club's first Champions League. They were penalty kicks away from achieving that feat with that trio to call on last season. But there is frankly more encouragement elsewhere, with Timber looking a threat throughout and reminding everyone of the dynamic dimension he provides from the right. Eze's evening was more mixed, but his goal was of high quality and a step towards seizing the opportunity of regular game time afforded to him by Christos Tzolis' muscular injury. Whatever grumbles there are, Arsenal's bandwagon rolls on. That's 14 consecutive Champions League group stage wins now on a night when the club mourned the passing of life president Ken Friar, aged 92. "There are people in football clubs that they have a role and they fulfill a role," said Arteta. "And there are other people that they create an identity, they create values and they have a vision to create a future for the football club. "And I think the legacy that Ken is going to leave to all of us, to our football club and everybody that has been close to him is going to be forever." Next up is Sunday's trip to Nottingham Forest. Arteta will likely shuffle the pack again, but at the moment, one way or another, the right number keeps coming up.