Dundalk 2-4 Arsenal: 5 talking points as Gunners win all group stage matches | UEFA Europa League 2020-21
Arsenal have won all six of their group stage matches in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) after beating Dundalk on Thursday.
The north London side had a couple of good chances in the opening minutes but were denied by goalkeeper Gary Rodgers and defender Dan Cleary.
Eddie Nketiah broke the deadlock in the 12th minute after a mistake from Andy Boyle. Within seven minutes, Arsenal doubled their lead thanks to a brilliant strike from Mohamed Elneny. It is the Egyptian's third goal for the Gunners, and his previous two goals came in European competitions too.
Jordan Flores pulled one back for Dundalk but their hopes of getting a win were ended thanks to goals from Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun in the second half. In the 86th minute, Sean Hoare netted for the home side to make the final scoreline 2-4 for Arsenal.
On that note, here's a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Arsenal are the only unbeaten team in European football
Arsenal are now the only club to maintain a 100% win record in European football. Every other club playing in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League have lost at least one match. Mikel Arteta's side also scored a total of 20 goals and conceded just five goals in six games.
With that result, Arsenal will be hoping for a favourable draw in the Round of 32. Last season, Mikel Arteta's side faced Olympiakos and were surprisingly knocked out of the competition by their Greek opponents.
The Gunners have an applaudable record in the Europa League, making it to the semi-final under Arsene Wenger and qualifying for the finals under Unai Emery. While Arsenal have never won the UEL in their history, it could be their chance to do so this season.
#4 Calum Chambers makes his return to the starting eleven
It's been 12 months since Calum Chambers started a match for Arsenal. The last time he did, he ruptured his cruciate ligament while playing against Chelsea.
Prior to starting Thursday's game, the 25-year-old came on as a substitute for 20 minutes last week. There was little defensive work to be done as Arsenal were already leading Rapid Wien 4-1 by the time he came on.
The Englishman played the full 90 minutes in the game against Dundalk and thankfully came off unscathed. During the win, Chambers even made a crucial block to prevent the Irish side from equalising in the first half and almost scored for Arsenal before his effort was ruled offside.
Before his serious injury, the defender was a key player in Arteta's backline. Now that he is ready for all the action, Chambers said in a recent press conference:
"Every opportunity I get given, just give it 100 per cent and do the best I can."