Arsenal got their Champions League campaign up and running with a win against Napoli, with Mikel Arteta thrilled with the performance. The post ‘Superb’ Arsenal should have beaten Napoli by more, says Arteta appeared first on SoccerNews.
Chelsea legend Joe Cole (Picture: Getty) Joe Cole insists he’s ‘not been this excited’ about Chelsea ‘for a long time’ and has praised ‘unbelievable’ summer signing Morgan Rogers. Cole’s former club finished just 10th in the Premier League last season, failing to qualify for any European competition and going through two permanent managers. The potentially shrewd appointment of former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso over the summer improved the mood at Stamford Bridge, as did some high-profile signings. Chelsea’s biggest signing of the summer was a stunning £117m deal for Morgan Rogers which made the England star the most expensive British player of all time. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. Alonso’s side began the 2026-27 season with three successive wins, beating Fulham and Brighton in the Premier League and Luton Town in the Carabao Cup. Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season at the weekend, losing 2-1 to reigning champions Arsenal, but responded with a thrilling 6-3 win over Leeds United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. An impressive start to the season has left Cole hugely ‘excited’ about Chelsea’s potential, with the Blues boasting ‘as good’ a front-three as anyone in the Premier League. Chelsea’s £117m summer signing Morgan Rogers (Picture: Reuters) Chelsea beat Leeds 6-3 in a cup thriller (Picture: Getty) ‘I thought it was a sensational game,’ Cole said on talkSPORT when asked about Chelsea’s narrow defeat to Arsenal. ‘I’ve not been this excited about a Chelsea team for a long time. ‘The front-three are blistering… I knew Morgan Rogers was a top player but he’s been unbelievable. He’s so powerful and the energy to get into the box from midfield is fantastic. ‘Chelsea didn’t have much possession against Arsenal but they look like they can carve teams open at any moment. There’s still problems defensively but I’m just excited. Xabi Alonso took over at Chelsea in the summer (Picture: Getty) ‘If you add Moises Caicedo into that team at the weekend, I think Chelsea get something out of the game. ‘Our front-three now is as good as anything in the Premier League and that’s the first time in a long time I’ve been able to say that.’ Chelsea were on course for a disappointing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Leeds, who took a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge through Tarik Muharemovic and Brenden Aaronson. "What a game of football we've just seen!" 🤯Conor Coady reacts to Chelsea's 6-3 win over Leeds 🔊 pic.twitter.com/arGmTIQwRz— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 9, 2026 But Alonso’s side scored four goals in 12 second-half minutes to turn the tie around, Cole Palmer netting a quickfire brace before Pedro Neto and Danny Welbeck got on the scoresheet, with Rogers playing a part in three of those. Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave the visitors renewed belief with Leeds’ third but late goals from Valentin Barco and Welbeck sent Chelsea into the fourth round. ‘I’m happy with the result and the reaction,’ Alonso said after an eventful cup tie. ‘There was so many changes, that was a risk. ‘Things weren’t going the way we planned, so we had to change. I take responsibility with the first half. The players that came on made an impact, for sure.’ Chelsea talisman Palmer added: ‘The boss told us to up the intensity at half-time. He thought the first half was flat, so we upped the tempo. ‘Leeds are a good team so it wasn’t easy but we stepped it up. I think we still have a bit to go, but we are getting results which is the main thing.’ Chelsea, currently sitting fourth in the Premier League, return to action on Saturday against newly-promoted Hull City. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
The introduction of Rogers and Palmer among four half-time substitutes had helped the Blues to fight back in the second half to secure a 6-3 victory over Leeds in the third round of the competition.
Mikel Arteta during Arsenal’s win over Napoli (Picture: Getty) Mikel Arteta was seen ‘raging’ at three of his players during Arsenal’s Champions League win over Napoli. The Gunners won all eight of their European league phase games last season and made an impressive start to this season’s campaign, beating Napoli 1-0 in Italy. Arsenal were the better side throughout but it looked as though their wastefulness in front of goal would cost them the three points until in-form Martin Odegaard popped up with a 75th-minute winner. Arteta was impressed with his team’s performance out in Naples and said his only disappointment was their inability to kill the game off sooner. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. ‘We fully deserved the three points,’ Arteta told TNT Sports after the game. ‘The performance probably doesn’t reflect the result, the team was superb. ‘We showed quality in a lot of moments to break them down and it was a shame because we missed so many great chances. ‘On any other day the result would be different. We should have done it in a different way because of the amount of chances we created but we got the win in the end.’ Martin Odegaard fired Arsenal past Napoli (Picture: Getty) On Odegaard’s latest influential performance, Arteta added: ‘Martin is contributing with goals that are impacting results which is what we want from our attacking players. ‘We want them to be decisive and certainly he was again today.’ While Arteta returned to north London a happy man, he was left ‘absolutely raging’ at three of his players as they looked to kill the game off. Odegaard celebrates Arsenal’s European win (Picture: Getty) Arsenal wasted a glorious chance to score a second late on and TNT Sports co-commentator Lucy Ward noticed Arteta screaming at Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Christos Tzolis to track back as Napoli attempted to counter. ‘Mikel Arteta was absolutely raging on the sidelines that Havertz, Madueke and Tzolis weren’t recovering after that attack,’ she said. ‘It was so interesting. As the Arsenal attack finished, those three all sort of ambled back, and Mikel Arteta ran down the sidelines and shouted at them to recover.’ “We missed so many big chances”Mikel Arteta shares his thoughts after Arsenal’s victory over Napoli 💭🎙️ @DannyJamieson | 📺 Watch live on TNT Sports & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/v559rbRAj0— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 9, 2026 Arsenal, who reached the Champions League final last season while lifting the Premier League trophy, have now won all five of their first games of the 2026-27 campaign. Assessing Arsenal’s performance against Italian giants Napoli, Arteta added: ‘I’m very, very happy. ‘A really tough place to come and a really different environment to play football – a beautiful one, by the way – against a really good team. ‘I love the way we attacked the game, the way we competed, the hunger that we showed, the desire to dominate, to come here, to own the pitch, and the quality that we showed against a team that it’s so difficult to create chances against. ‘We created a huge amount of them and the result doesn’t reflect what we saw on the pitch. ‘The players were immense, and to play with that personality, with that conviction and with that quality in the Champions League away from home, it’s something that I’m extremely pleased about.’ Arsenal’s next Champions League fixture is against Ligue 1 side Lille after the upcoming international break. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Former England international Joe Cole has lavished praise on Martin Ødegaard after the Arsenal captain delivered yet another match-winning goal in a commanding 1-0 Champions League victory against Napoli. The Norwegian playmaker produced a moment of magic from the edge of the penalty box to break the deadlock and secure three vital away points for […] The post “You can’t help but love watching him”: Joe Cole singles out Arsenal star with praise after Napoli win appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Andoni Iraola's first Champions League game in charge of Liverpool ended in victory, and he lauded the Anfield crowd for their contribution. The post Iraola enjoys ‘incredible’ Anfield atmosphere on Champions League debut appeared first on SoccerNews.
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