Arsenal emerged victorious from the Stadio Maradona as Martin Odegaard scored the only goal of the game 15 minutes from time. Napoli battled valiantly and Kevin De Bruyne had the chance to level the scores at the end but it wasn't to be.
Massimiliano Allegri offered the following post-match assessment:
“The first half was a balanced affair and we managed to play our way out from their pressing well. We got our final pass wrong a few times but Arsenal are a top side – not only do they keep the ball well, they defend very well too.
“They came into the ascendancy in the second half but the lads kept battling away and we could have done better with a few opportunities. Overall it was a decent display against an excellent team. We were a lot more focused than against Como and Inter.
“We've lost three in a row now but we have to keep things in perspective. Our performances are improving but we haven't got the results to show for it. Now we must focus on Sunday's match. It's not all negative – you get moments like this in a season. Some of our players are returning to full fitness. We have a quality squad and we just need to keep working with confidence.”
Giovanni Di Lorenzo also shared his thoughts:
“Unfortunately we weren't able to get a good result but we played as a team and had several chances to score.
“We were up against a great team who were in control for long spells. Perhaps we could have held a higher line at times but our overall performance was good.
“Losing three on the spin is tough to take but we've always shown spirit. We'll keep working away and following the coach's instructions. We want to get back to winning ways starting with our next match.”
Napoli 0-1 Arsenal (HT 0-0)
Scorer: Odegaard 75.
NAPOLI: Meret (Milinkovic-Savic 46) Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Rafa Marín, Olivera; Gilmour, Lobotka (Neres 77), De Bruyne; Politano (Favasuli 58), Alisson (Vergara 58), Hojlund (Lucca 77).
Coach: Allegri.
ARSENAL: Raya; White (Zubimendi 82), Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie, Merino (Guimaraes 66), Rice, Saka (Madueke 73), Odegaard, Eze (Tzolis 66), Gyokeres (Havertz 73).
Coach: Arteta.
Referee: Nyberg (Sweden).
Booked: Gilmour, Lucca, Odegaard
