Saka stars off the bench for Arsenal
Arsenal's perfect start to the Champions League campaign continued as Bukayo Saka starred off the bench in the Gunners' 3-0 win over Lille at the Emirates Stadium.
Jurrien Timber scored the first of Arsenal's three goals in seven second-half minutes, with Saka then teeing up Eberechi Eze two minutes after replacing Noni Madueke.
Saka got in on the act in the 71st minute after combining with fellow substitute Kai Havertz, as Arsenal followed up their win over Napoli with a more convincing display here.
Arsenal did, however, struggle to find their groove early on, though it carved out two chances in quick succession, with Bruno Guimaraes turning Timber's cross wide from inside the box, before another delivery from the Dutchman was headed straight at Berke Ozer by Mikel Merino.
The visitor then had a goal ruled out for offside against Ayase Ueda, who finished calmly past David Raya, but the Spaniard's clean sheet was preserved on the day he went level with David Seaman for most European Cup/Champions League games played for Arsenal among goalkeepers.
Eze then shot straight at Ozer before Guimaraes' swerving strike in first-half stoppage time almost caught out the Lille goalkeeper, who jumped quickly to his feet to swat the ball behind with Viktor Gyokeres waiting to pounce on the rebound.
Lille continued to frustrate Arsenal in the second half, and just as Mikel Arteta was preparing to bring on Saka, Havertz and Martin Odegaard, the Gunners hit the front in the 64th minute when Timber collected Madueke's pass before lofting the ball over Ozer.
Saka wasted little time in making his mark on proceedings as he pulled the ball back for Eze to brilliantly stroke home a bouncing effort that nestled into the bottom-right corner.
And the result was sealed four minutes later by Saka, who curled into the back of the net to round off a flowing Arsenal move that saw Havertz and Odegaard heavily involved.
Guimaraes almost capitalised on a mistake by Benjamin Andre, but his shot was saved by Ozer, and Arsenal's blistering seven-minute spell was enough to seal all three points.
Bukayo Ayoyinka Temidayo Saka
Arsenal FC
