Martin Odegaard is on a mission to put himself at top table of elite midfielders as captain's brilliance gives Arsenal the perfect start to Champions League campaign with victory at Napoli

Arsenal issued a warning to their own fans before kick-off in Naples, strongly advising them not to wear club shirts or scarves, or use public transport to avoid being targeted by Napoli ultras.

That was their biggest statement of the day — before Martin Odegaard, whose previous season was tarnished by injury and loss of form, ensured those travelling fans would be heading home in high spirits.

As Christos Tzolis’s pass reached the Norwegian just outside the area, his eyes lit up, driving forward on that wand of a left foot. Once he saw a gap, the captain curled the ball with pace and precision into the bottom left-corner to get Arsenal’s Champions League campaign off to a winning start.

It’s now four goals in five matches for Odegaard, who has entered this season on a mission to prove himself at the top table of elite midfielders after just one goal across all competitions last term.

Runners up in both 2006 and 2026 — either side of a crushing Europa League final loss to Chelsea under Unai Emery — the Champions League remains Arsenal’s last frontier.

A September night in Naples doesn’t dictate where the trophy will lie, but builds momentum and helps bypass the dreaded play-off round. They ought to use this result as a lesson going forward.

‘That’s what we need, the players with that mindset to decide the game,’ manager Mikel Arteta said of Odegaard.

‘I feel he has this emotional state that he knows that the ball can go in and he is playing an incredible football match.’

By the 50-minute mark, Arsenal had Napoli camped around their own box, hoping for the pressure to relent. They struggled to get out and, on the rare occasion Napoli did, their attacks were snuffed out.

Luckily for them, the Gunners didn’t come bearing a full arsenal — until Odegaard’s intervention. Viktor Gyokeres was given a rare start in place of Kai Havertz, using his physicality to hold up the ball. There was the odd moment of brilliance, such as an instep cross which Bukayo Saka tried meeting with a scissor-kick.

However, a theme of wastefulness ran through Arteta’s side. Chance after chance arrived, the ball either ending up in half-time substitute goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s grasp or well beyond the goal frame.

Arteta at least showed he’d learned from the previous campaign, making four changes to the side which beat Chelsea on Sunday — Piero Hincapie, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Gyokeres making their first starts of the season.

Saka’s looping cross to the back post reached Eze, who nodded the ball to Merino but his resulting header, with plenty of neck swivel, was palmed over by Alex Meret.

Before the first half ended, Odegaard played Saka through, the winger hoofing the ball when one-v-one with the keeper. It was ruled offside, to spare his blushes.

The triumvirate of Saka, Odegaard and Ben White were in sync, quick passes constantly exchanged to caused the hosts’ backline many a problem and give Saka avenues to get forward.

Hincapie ought to have scored five minutes after the break. Odegaard’s clever, looping chip found White, his header teeing up Hincapie’s wild blaze over the bar.

Arteta turned to Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes and Havertz later and that soon helped change the game.