Related items

• Arsenal cruise into Champions League last 16 after hammering Lens

  Arsenal stylishly cruised into the Champions League knockout stages as Group B winners by thrashing French club Lens 6-0 at Emirates Stadium.

  The Premier League leaders kicked off needing just a point to reach the last 16 of the competition following PSV Eindhoven’s 3-2 comeback win at Sevilla earlier on Wednesday evening.

  Mikel Arteta’s men duly delivered in devastating fashion thanks to first-half goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.

  Substitute Jorginho completed the scoring with a late penalty, awarded following VAR intervention for a handball by Abdukodir Khusanov.

  A one-sided encounter in north London was marred slightly by visiting fans throwing a lit flare at home supporters in the aftermath of Saka’s 23rd-minute strike.

  With first place in the pool emphatically secured with a game to spare, Gunners boss Arteta now has the luxury of being able to rotate his squad for next month’s visit to Eindhoven amid a hectic December fixture list which could determine the seriousness of his side’s title ambitions.

  The Spaniard made just two changes from Saturday’s dramatic 1-0 win at Brentford, which moved the Gunners top of the table.

  Havertz was recalled as reward for his late winner against the Bees, while on-loan goalkeeper David Raya was restored having been cup-tied against his parent club.

  Arsenal controlled proceedings from the first whistle and quickly blew away last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up.

  The recalled Havertz, who had already headed narrowly wide, capitalised on static defending to open the scoring in the 13th minute, poking beyond France keeper Brice Samba from close range following Jesus’ nod down.

  Lens’ vocal travelling support responded by throwing a pyrotechnic device on to the field before quickly seeing the game run away from their outclassed team.

  Jesus doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 21st minute, calmly sidestepping Kevin Danso and coolly slotting past Samba following strong running from Saka.

  England forward Saka quickly added to the punishment by finishing with his left thigh on the rebound after Samba poorly parried Martinelli’s initial effort.

  That unorthodox finish led to unsavoury scenes as an active flare was launched from the away end into home spectators in the tier above.

  Dominant Arsenal continued to shine brighter on the pitch and Martinelli lit up the contest with a wonderful fourth with only 27 minutes on the clock.

  The Brazil international raced away down the left flank and then cut inside Przemyslaw Frankowski to curl a sumptuous finish into the far corner.

  Arsenal’s first defeat of the season came in the reverse fixture in northern France at the start of October.

  On this evidence, most inside the ground must have been wondering how, albeit Lens’ Facundo Medina rattled the right post from distance during a rare foray forward.

  That proved to a fleeting moment of positivity for the away side, who went into the break 5-0 down after Odegaard expertly volleyed home Takehiro Tomiyasu’s cross.

  Arteta used a more subdued second period to rest some of his star names, with Saka and the outstanding Declan Rice among those withdrawn.

  Substitute Reiss Nelson came close to adding to the visitors’ embarrassment but his deflected effort was repelled by former Nottingham Forest keeper Samba.

  Lens’ misery was completed four minutes from time when Jorginho calmly sent Samba the wrong way from the spot after substitute Khusanov was punished for handling on review.

• Delano Burgzorg fires winner as Huddersfield upset Sunderland

  Delano Burgzorg’s winner helped Huddersfield beat Sunderland 2-1 to end a five-game winless run and move six points above the Championship relegation zone.

  The visitors took the lead through Michal Helik’s header from a well-worked corner, but the Black Cats quickly levelled as Luke O’Nien fired home from a free-kick.

  Visiting goalkeeper Chris Maxwell made some fine saves to keep the score level throughout the second half before Burgzorg bagged the winner in the 67th minute.

  The result meant the Terriers moved clear of the bottom three, while Sunderland dropped into 11th.

  Huddersfield had an early chance after a quick move down the right saw the ball crossed into Jaheim Headley, but Anthony Patterson made a great save one-on-one.

  A slow start to the match saw Sunderland retain most of the ball, but the visitors threatened on the counter-attack and took opportunities when they could.

  A neat pass split the home defence down the middle for Burgzorg to burst forward, but he fired into the side-netting.

  Huddersfield took the lead in the 28th minute when the Black Cats were unable to clear their lines from a corner as Tom Lees headed the ball towards Helik, who nodded in at the near post.

  Sunderland had an opportunity almost instantly from a free-kick just outside the box when Jack Clarke’s vicious effort forced Maxwell into an excellent dive to his left to push the ball away.

  They soon found the equaliser in the 40th minute after Patrick Roberts’ free-kick reached Jenson Seelt in the box, who nodded to O’Nien at the near post for the captain to smash home from close range.

  A quick start to the second half saw Sunderland nearly take the lead when Seelt blasted over the bar from Roberts’ cross.

  Maxwell continued to keep his side in it, sticking a leg out to deny Jobe Bellingham one-on-one before making a superb save to paw away Trai Hume’s effort that looked destined for the top corner.

  Despite Sunderland’s good chances, Huddersfield retook the lead in the 67th minute after the hosts failed to stop Headley’s mazy run which led to Burgzorg getting the ball on the edge of the box and slotting it into the bottom corner.

  Maxwell was forced into a save from Alex Pritchard’s free-kick and the hosts struggled to break through the Huddersfield defence.

  Sunderland continued to push in stoppage time as Maxwell made a great save from point-blank range from Clarke’s powerful shot and the rebound from Neil was cleared as the Terriers held on for three points.

• Sammie Szmodics celebrates new deal with two goals as Blackburn beat Birmingham

  Sammie Szmodics celebrated his new contract by firing a second-half brace to help Blackburn to an enthralling 4-2 victory over Birmingham.

  Wayne Rooney’s men had the better of the first half and Siriki Dembele clattered the woodwork but the visitors were made to pay for that profligacy.

  Szmodics, who extended his Blackburn deal to 2026 on Tuesday, showed his clinical edge by lobbing John Ruddy in the 47th minute before another lofted finish five minutes later gave him his 13th of the campaign.

  The game looked over when James Hill profited from a goalkeeping error to net his first Blackburn goal but Birmingham turned the game on its head.

  Szmodics’ former Peterborough teammate Dembele netted a brace of his own with a classy 63rd-minute strike before a spectacular 20-yard effort gave the visitors real hope of an improbable point.

  Harry Leonard’s injury-time strike made the points safe for Blackburn, who go seventh after a third win in four. Birmingham have now lost seven consecutive away games.

  Birmingham weathered a fast Blackburn start and should have gone ahead in the 23rd minute when Lee Buchanan lashed over from close range.

  They went closer three minutes later when Dembele tricked his way into the area on the left before unleashing an effort that rattled the crossbar.

  Juninho Bacuna missed a glorious chance just before the break when he received the ball on the right but flashed a low shot beyond the far post, and Ruddy kept the scores level just before the break when he parried Callum Brittain’s curling shot behind.

  Blackburn were ruthless after the break and Szmodics put them ahead in the 47th minute when he latched on to Adam Wharton’s defence-splitting pass before lobbing the stranded Ruddy.

  He repeated the trick five minutes later, meeting Leonard’s clever pass before calmly lifting the ball over the goalkeeper from inside the area and it felt like game over in the 59th minute when Hill let fly with a speculative effort that Ruddy allowed to squirm beyond him and into the corner.

  Birmingham came roaring back and superb skill from Dembele four minutes later saw him go past Brittain and fire clinically into the top corner.

  It changed the complexion of the game and Leopold Wahlstedt made a smart near-post save from Bacuna before his brilliant reaction stop repelled Lukas Jutkiewicz’s point-blank header.

  Dembele’s fifth of the season in the 78th minute, a stunning curling strike from the edge of the area that flew into the roof of the net, set up a grandstand finish.

  But Leonard fired into the bottom-left corner in the second minute of injury time to secure the points as Ewood breathed a collective sigh of relief.