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Kai Havertz Scores Again As Rampant Arsenal Make History Against Lens

Arsenal stormed into a 4-0 lead inside the opening 27 minutes of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group B clash in London. Kai Havertz scored the first goal.

Robert Summerscales

Kai Havertz Scores Again As Rampant Arsenal Make History Against Lens
Kai Havertz Scores Again As Rampant Arsenal Make History Against Lens /

Arsenal scored five goals in the first half of a UEFA Champions League game for the first time ever on Wednesday night.

The Gunners stormed into a 4-0 lead over French side Lens inside the opening 27 minutes thanks to goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

Captain Martin Odegaard made it 5-0 in first-half added time.

Jorginho then converted a penalty kick late in the second half to wrap up a 6-0 win - the biggest margin of victory over French opposition ever recorded by an English team in European competition.

Havertz netted his third goal in four games to open the scoring when he bundled the ball past Lens keeper Brice Samba from close range following a Jesus flick-on.

Kai Havertz pictured celebrating after scoring for Arsenal against Lens in the UEFA Champions League in November 2023
Kai Havertz has now scored four goals in his last three games for Arsenal and Germany :: IMAGO/Action Plus/Shaun Brooks

Jesus then scored himself following some tidy footwork inside the 18-yard box.

Saka got Arsenal's third moments later when he unconventionally converted a rebound after Brice had saved an initial effort from Martinelli.

Goal no.4 was a superb solo strike by Martinelli, who toyed with Przemyslaw Frankowski before curling a fine shot past Samba.

Odegaard completed Arsenal's first-half scoring with a powerful volley following a cross from Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The second half was much less eventful than the first but Arsenal got a sixth goal from the penalty spot in the 86th minute following a VAR review that found Abduqodir Khusanov guilty of handball.

Arsenal's victory secured the club a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League for the first time since the 2016/17 season.

Highlights: Arsenal 6-0 Lens

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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.