Arsenal’s 6-0 Champions League thrashing of Lens was beyond a dream, says Mikel Arteta

LONDON – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was happy with his side’s aggression after they romped into the knockout stage of the Champions League by sweeping Lens aside on a freezing night in north London on Nov 29.

To top it off, the Gunners’ 6-0 Group B triumph was the biggest victory by an English team against a French opponent in European competition.

“I didn’t even dream like this,” Arteta said. “We had the chance to qualify today and be top of the group and I think we’ve done it in a really convincing way.

“The team from the beginning showed a lot of aggression and determination to go for the game. Everything happened in the right way in the first 30 minutes.”

Arsenal had needed just one point to be certain of reaching the next round, but they did not settle for that target against the side that beat them 2-1 in France in October.

Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all netted inside the first 27 minutes.

Martin Odegaard added the fifth just before the interval and Jorginho bagged his first goal for Arsenal with a late penalty to cap their biggest win this season.

With one game to spare, the Gunners are guaranteed to finish top as they sit four points clear of PSV Eindhoven, who beat Sevilla 3-2 and eliminated the Spanish side.

Securing pole position in the group means Arsenal will have the advantage of a home tie in the last-16 second leg.

Arteta added that his side had been showing a similar form at home for a while, and he welcomed the fact that six players had got their names on the score sheet.

“The consistency that we’ve shown at home to not concede any goals and score lots is a really positive factor,” he said. “Those players need to have those experiences and believe that we can do it against those opponents.”

This was a significant statement of intent from Arteta, whose team have won four of their five group games and look capable of challenging for the club’s maiden Champions League crown.

He was keen to play down his ambitions in Europe’s biggest club competition, however.

“Now let’s wait. We have to park it, we will know in February who we’re facing (in the next round) and let’s see how we are in that moment,” the Arsenal boss said.

It was a miserable night for eliminated Lens, whose fans appeared to throw a flare into an Arsenal section of the stadium, while another flare and missiles were launched onto the pitch towards the Gunners players.

“We know these sort of games can become complicated very quickly. There was a huge difference between us and Arsenal. They are consistent at a very high level,” Lens boss Franck Haise said. AFP, REUTERS