Ethan Nwaneri struck a sublime winner as Arsenal rallied from a goal down to beat Girona 2-1 and secure a spot in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
2024/2025 UEFA Champions League
1-2
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
3' Girona seems to have a handball but the ref takes no action
5' Sterling's shot is wide
6' Trossard is booked yellow for his tackling on Frances
8' WHAT A CHANCE! Trossard's attempt is just wide!
10' Martin's shot is blocked by Gabriel
12' Calafiori's goal is ruled offside!
24' Foul by Trossard and Martín wins a free kick for Girona in the defensive half
28' Martinez downs painfully as he is stepped by Sterling
29' Danjuma breaks the record and puts hosts in lead! Girona 1-0 Arsenal
35' Danjuma's shot is blocked by the defender
38' Jorginho converts the penalty and equalizes for Gunners! Girona 1-1 Arsenal
42' Nwaneri earns comeback for Gunners! Girona 1-2 Arsenal
50' Timber and Martin hit each other, and Timber is down in pain
55' Trossard's right footed shot is blocked by the defender
62' Calafiori's left footed shot is wide
70' Myles Lewis-Skelly replaces Riccardo Calafiori
70' Raheem Sterling is shown the yellow card
77' Stuani's goal disallowed as Portu is offside
85' Martínez booked yellow for his foul on Merino
92' Sterling's penalty is denied by the keeper
Match Report
Arsenal earned their sixth win from eight games to finish third in the league phase and avoid a two-legged play-off in the knockout stage.
Mikel Arteta's men were largely in control away from home, but Girona opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Arnaut Danjuma capitalised on debutant goalkeeper Neto's poor positioning and swept into the net.
However, Jorginho equalised with a clinical spot kick 10 minutes later following an Arnau Martinez foul on Thomas Partey, before Nwaneri put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box.
Locked in for the knockout stage pic.twitter.com/BoO0xdjuSx
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 29, 2025
Girona scarcely threatened an equaliser in the second half but thought they had it through Cristhian Stuani, only for a VAR review to reveal Portu was offside before crossing for his fellow substitute.
Arsenal, who had hit the crossbar through Leandro Trossard late in the first half, themselves came close to a further goal, yet Raheem Sterling saw his stoppage-time penalty saved by Pau Lopez after Alejandro Frances' handball.
Data debrief: Arsenal avoid last-day drama
Although only an improbable set of results would have seen Arsenal fall out of the top eight, there may have been a few nerves in the visiting ranks when they fell behind against the run of play.
Yet the Gunners were back in control by the break. This was just the second time they had conceded first in a Champions League away game but gone on to lead at half-time, also doing so in another 2-1 win at Montpellier in 2012.
Nwaneri was just five when Arsene Wenger's side completed that turnaround, and in scoring a superb winner on Wednesday, he became the second-youngest English goalscorer in Champions League history. Jude Bellingham was just 25 days younger when he netted his first goal in the competition.
Line-ups
Girona XI: Romeu, Juanpe, P. Lopez, Viktor Tsygankov, Arnaut Danjuma, Abel Ruiz, Iván Martín, Alejandro Francés, Yáser Asprilla, Arnau Martínez, Antal Yaakobishvili
Subs: Stuani, Gazzaniga, Portu, Van de Beek, Yangel Herrera, Bojan Miovski, Ricard Artero, Jhon Solís, Oriol Comas, Selvi Clua, Min-su Kim, Jordi Bilali Danso
Arsenal XI: Neto, Trossard, Sterling, Jorginho, Partey, Ødegaard, Merino, Gabriel, Kiwior, Calafiori, Nwaneri
Subs: Zinchenko, Tierney, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Saliba, Timber, N. Butler-Oyedeji, Salah-Eddine Oulad M'Hand, Tommy Setford, Lewis-Skelly, Jack Porter