Captain Odegaard and Kai Havertz
Arsenal earned a routine 2-0 victory over Luton Town to maintain their challenge for a first Premier League (PL) title since 2004, while also recording their 39th home league game unbeaten against newly-promoted sides.
Expectations were high for the Gunners despite Mikel Arteta making five changes to his side that drew against Manchester City. Those alterations did little to disrupt the hosts’ rhythm as they enjoyed plenty of possession during the early stages, although Luton defended resolutely with Ross Barkley and Alfie Doughty blocking shots from Kai Havertz and Oleksandr Zinchenko respectively.
The Hatters then started to make forays forward of their own without testing David Raya, while Emile Smith Rowe’s attempt bounced towards Thomas Kaminski.
The hosts made the breakthrough 24 minutes into proceedings, as Smith Rowe rushed to pickpocket Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu before Martin Ødegaard linked up with Havertz and clinically finished for his 10th goal across all competitions this term. Fred Onyedinma was unable to capitalise on a misunderstanding between Gabriel Magalhães and Zinchenko at the other end, before Doughty came out of a scare unscathed as his tackle saw the ball bounce off Thomas Partey and behind. The hosts still doubled their lead before the break, though, as Daiki Hashioka unknowingly knocked Smith Rowe’s cutback into his own net.
With that extra goal, Arsenal were happy to be patient in possession after the restart and Rob Edwards introduced Tahith Chong before the hour mark in an attempt to offer more of an attacking threat. The winger was involved in some lovely link-up play but saw his ball into the box cut out by Zinchenko, as the Hatters’ struggles to find the industrious Carlton Morris in a threatening position continued despite their promising moments.
Gabriel made a strong block to deny Hashioka and avoid any late doubt that Arsenal would secure the victory on their way to a 10th consecutive PL game unbeaten, which takes them top of the table ahead of Liverpool’s match against Sheffield United. They also ended Luton’s league-high ongoing record of scoring in 18 consecutive matches, while leaving the Hatters winless in 10 league matches and three points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal)
Report by Flashscore
