Arsenal made it seven wins in a row in all competitions courtesy of an emphatic 6-0 rout of Ludogorets Razgrad at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott sent the Gunners into half time with a cushion, although the Bulgarian champions created a number of chances themselves in the opening 45 minutes.
It was a different story in the second half, though, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored immediately after the restart and Mesut Ozil registered his first ever professional hat-trick to cap off the rout.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Champions League Group A clash between Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad at the Emirates Stadium! The hosts come into this match joint top of the group and in fine form, while Ludogorets are still looking for their first win in the Champions League proper this season. Before we get into all that, though, let's take a look at the team news!
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Ospina; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Gibbs; Coquelin, Cazorla, Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alexis
ARSENAL SUBS: Cech, Gabriel, Monreal, Xhaka, Elneny, Iwobi, Lucas
While we wait for the Ludogorets team news to filter through, let's first have a look at that Arsenal team and what we can make of it. As expected, Arsene Wenger has made changes to the team that hung on for victory against Swansea at the weekend, with one of those coming in goal as Ospina replaces Cech, just as he did for the first two Champions League matches. Wenger appears to have firmly made a decision on Ospina being his European goalkeeper, and he is sticking with it tonight.
There is also one change in the back four too, with Gibbs coming into the starting XI and Monreal dropping to the bench as a result. Wenger doesn't have a huge amount of depth in the middle of the defence, with Mertesacker still sidelined, so he sticks with Koscielny and Mustafi tonight, the latter of whom has made a good start to his time at the club. Hector Bellerin makes up the back four on the right flank.
Francis Coquelin is another change to the team from the weekend win over Swansea, replacing Xhaka in the starting lineup. Xhaka was sent off against the Swans, adding to his pretty poor disciplinary record in recent years, but he is only serving a domestic ban and so is able to be named on the bench tonight. Santi Cazorla is alongside Coquelin at the heart of the midfield, acting as a deep-lying playmaker.
Further forward, Arsenal's main goal threat could well come through a resurgent Theo Walcott, who is enjoying one of the best spells of his entire career at the moment. The England international has scored six goals in his last five games for the Gunners, including two against Swansea at the weekend. He also scored twice against Basel in Arsenal's last Champions League outing and particularly enjoys himself at home, with five goals in his last three matches here.
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Arsenal's other in-form player is Alexis Sanchez, who continues to lead the line this evening in Olivier Giroud's absence. Sanchez has been directly involved in each of Arsenal's last four goals, scoring one himself and getting three assists, and that streak stretches back to Arsenal's last five games if you only count matches here at the Emirates. The Chilean has scored five goals in his last eight outings home and away, so he is one Ludogorets will need to keep an eye on tonight.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is also handed a start today having recently admitted that he could consider his future at the end of the season due to a lack of playing time. The winger has come off the bench more often than he has started in the Premier League for the Gunners, but gets a chance to show what he can do on the European stage tonight. Mesut Ozil is also in that trio behind the striker, so Arsenal have no shortage of attacking talent on show here.
LUDOGORETS STARTING XI: Stoyanov; Natanael, Palomino, Moti, Minev; Dyakov, Anicet, Wanderson, Marcelinho, Misidjan; Cafu
LUDOGORETS SUBS: Borjan, Plastun, Cicinho, Sasha, Lukoki, Quixada, Keseru
Ludogorets name an unchanged side to the one that beat OFK Pirin on Friday, which means that the in-form Cafu once again leads the line. He was on the scoresheet last time out to make it five goals in his last six appearances for Ludogorets, so Arsenal will need to be wary of the forward.
Elsewhere, Moti was also on the scoresheet last time out, converting a penalty, and there are plenty of goals throughout this Ludogorets team. They are high scorers - albeit not usually against teams of Arsenal's standard - and plenty of their goals come from midfield and defence too.
Despite the number of goals Ludogorets score, there is no doubt that Arsenal will come into this match as heavy favourites to pick up a victory. There is a feelgood factor back about the club at the moment, with the team having overcome a shaky start to the season to go on and enjoy some very good form. Since losing to Liverpool on the opening day of the campaign, the Gunners are unbeaten in 10.
Indeed, they picked up just one point from their opening two league games, but have been perfect domestically since then, winning six matches on the bounce to move joint top alongside Manchester City. In all competition their winning streak also sits at six matches, so they are in top form heading into this match. While last season there was a rather toxic atmosphere about the club at times, right now there seems to be genuine optimism about their chances this season.
A win tonight, particularly if they can do it by a few goals, would put them in a very good position in terms of this group. It is already in their hands to a large extent, sitting level on points with PSG after two games. They began their campaign with a very respectable 1-1 draw in Paris before easing past Basel on matchday two, and should, as expected, they avoid defeat today then it will be the first time that they would have avoided defeat in their opening three Champions League group games since 2011-12.
Arsenal's biggest problem in this competition recently has been their inability to win the group, which has seen them come up against the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the subsequent knockout rounds. If they can secure top spot in their group this time around - which they are probably favourites to do at this stage - then it is likely to help their cause hugely.
Arsenal have only lost three of their last 39 home Champions League group games, winning 30 of those, so they don't often have problems making it through the groups. It is later in the competition when the Gunners invariably fall short, which is a big reason behind their record of having lost seven of their last 16 home games in the competition proper - a higher rate than you might expect for a team of Arsenal's stature.
Arsenal have won four home games in a row in all competitions, though, with the 4-3 defeat to Liverpool on the opening day the only blemish on their record at the Emirates so far this season. They have also scored 13 times in their five home matches this term and never less than twice in a game, so we should be expecting a few more goals tonight. They have also scored at least twice in each of their last eight Champions League group games at the Emirates.
The Gunners scored three times here at the weekend, with the in-form Walcott bagging another brace against Swansea. That put Arsenal 2-0 up before Swansea fought back, with Sigurdsson and Borja scoring either side of an Ozil goal to make it 3-2. The Gunners were forced to hang on a little when Xhaka was sent off with 20 minutes remaining, but they managed to see out the win.
That type of victory is perhaps what has been lacking for Arsenal in recent years and lead to plenty calling for Arsene Wenger to leave the club, but it does look like a different Arsenal this term. That, of course, is not good news for Ludogorets tonight as they make just their second ever trip to England. The first came on their Champions League debut season a couple of years ago, and it took a 93rd-minute penalty from Steven Gerrard for Liverpool to escape from that one with all three points.
The Bulgarian outfit have already done better on the road this season than they did in 2014-15 when it comes to the Champions League, though, picking up a point against Basel. Basel were also one of their opponents in their other Champions League group stage, but they were heavily beaten by the Swiss side on that occasion, losing 4-0. They were also beaten 4-0 at Real Madrid in that campaign, so it is fair to say that their short Champions League away record is not a very strong one.
That form is in stark contrast to what Ludogorets are used to domestically, where they have won the title in each of the past five seasons. They don't currently sit in top spot at the moment, but they are once again in the mix and are only two points adrift of Levski Sofia with a game in hand. They have been beaten just once all season, although that did come at the hands of Levski Sofia.
In all competitions Ludogorets have only lost one of their last 12 outings, with that coming at the hands of PSG on matchday two. They actually began their Champions League campaign way back on July 13, needing to get past Mladost, Crvena Zvezda and Viktoria Plzen before booking their place in the group stages. They scored 15 goals in the process of that, though, and are comfortably the highest scorers domestically despite having played a game less.
The concern for Ludogorets will be at the other end of the pitch, where they are conceding at a rate of a goal a game in the league - the worst defence in the top four of the table. They also have the worst defence in Group A having conceded four goals in their matches against PSG and Basel and in all competitions have managed just one clean sheet in their last 10 outings.
Ludogorets are unbeaten in seven away matches in all competitions, though, and have lost just one of 10 all season - with that coming against Levski Sofia. This will be their fifth away Champions League game of the season already, and so far they are yet to taste defeat on the road with two wins and two draws from their four outings so far.
In the Champions League proper, though Ludogorets have won just one of their eight previous outings, with that coming against Basel during the 2014-15 campaign. They have drawn two and lost five games otherwise, although they have taken the lead in both of their group games so far - they have just been unable to see it out.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Emirates, which means that it is time for a prediction! I can see quite a few goals in this one, but I can't see any result other than a relatively comfortable Arsenal victory. Ludogorets have shown enough to suggest that they won't be pushovers, but Arsenal are in brilliant form right now and it would be a big surprise if they came away with anything less than a win. I'll go for 3-0 to the Gunners!
This, unsurprisingly, will be the first ever meeting between these two teams, and also Arsenal's first ever European match against Bulgarian opposition. As previously mentioned, Ludogorets did take on Liverpool during the 2014-15 campaign, but that is their only previous experience of English opposition.
Victory for the visitors tonight would make them just the second ever Bulgarian team to win in England during a Champions League/European Cup match, and you have to go all the way back to 1980 for the first. CSKA Sofia hold that unique distinction, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0, but since then there have been four defeats on the bounce for visiting Bulgarian sides.
Right, the players are out and we're getting just minutes away from kickoff now. The players line up, the anthem plays, and the Ludogorets players all have big grins on their faces. This is a big occasion for the visitors!
KICKOFF: Here we go then! Arsenal get us underway at the Emirates!
Ludogorets have made a fairly bright start to this match, immediately getting on the front foot and looking to put the hosts under pressure. Arsenal have been forced into some early defending here.
Arsenal have their first bright attacking moment as Ozil turns into space and looks for Sanchez at the back post, but he gets the cross wrong and passes it straight into the keeper's arms.
Arsenal are seeing more of the ball now, but they are yet to trouble Ludogorets going forward. It's been a relatively low-key start to this match.
Bellerin makes good ground down the right flank before playing a low ball into the middle, but it is hacked away before it can reach Sanchez at the back post.
CHANCE! Big chance for Arsenal to break the deadlock, but strangely Walcott turns down the chance to shoot when he only had the keeper to beat. The winger was picked out by Sanchez and got a little lucky with the ball breaking to him off a defender, but he unselfishly looks for a pass and the ball is cleared away.
CHANCE! Arsenal are through again here as Sanchez just about beats the offside trap and races forward. Everyone is expecting the flag to go up, but it is correctly kept down and it takes some scrambling defence tp deny Sanchez, who never really looked confident there.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Ludogorets (Alexis Sanchez)
Arsenal have the breakthrough, and it is a beauty from Sanchez. It is poor defending again to let the Chilean race through, but take nothing away from the finish. Sanchez cuts inside past one defender before scooping a delightful chip over the keeper and into the far corner. Sublime stuff from Sanchez.
Arsenal have really upped the tempo in this last five minutes or so, and that goal had been coming. Ludogorets need to shut up shop now and make sure they don't concede another in quick succession.
4 - Alexis Sanchez has been involved in all four of Arsenal's Champions League goals this season (2 goals, 2 assists). Master. — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 19, 2016
The visitors have a rare effort as the ball breaks to Anicet around 25 yards from goal, but he won't want to see this one again. He blazes a first-time effort well off target.
SAVE! Ospina is called into action for the first time tonight as Wanderson gets in down the right channel and goes for goal. The angle is against him, though, and Ospina is able to push it away.
Ludogorets are starting to see a bit more of the ball in attacking areas now, with Wanderson darting forward here only to see his attempted pass go too far behind Cafu.
CHANCE! Good break from the visitors here as Wanderson again strides forward well. He plays a through-ball into the box for Cafu, who gets to the ball before Ospina but can't squeeze his finish home from a tight angle.
Ludogorets have shown enough in this opening 25 minutes to suggest that they are still in this game. Defensively they have been lacking at times, but when they attack they do it with great pace.
CHANCE! Chance for Arsenal to get a second goal as Moti completely fluffs an attempted clearance, giving the ball straight to Ozil. The German takes a touch before trying to shoot from the edge of the area, but Moti redeems himself by making the block.
CHANCE! This is end-to-end stuff right now! There is a chance for Ludogorets this time as Mustafi can't cut out a pass for Misidjan, and it needs Ospina to come and make an important contribution.
CHANCE! Seconds later Arsenal have another chance too! A precise pass sends Oxlade-Chamberlain through down the left channel, but the final ball is lacking and the chance goes begging! Walcott would have had a tap-in there had Oxlade-Chamberlain got the pass right.
That really should have been a second for Arsenal, and you get the feeling that a two-goal cushion could be important in this match. It could help to kill any hope Ludogorets may have of getting back into the game.
OFF THE POST! Another big chance for Ludogorets! It is poor defending as Misidjan is able to race through on goal, but again Ospina gets a crucial hand to the ball as the forward tried to take it around him. The visitors keeper possession, though, and work it back to Wanderson, whose low strike kisses the post on its way behind.
SAVE! More lazy defending from Ludogorets allows Walcott to stay onside and collect a stabbed pass from Coquelin. He takes it in his stride before going for goal, but his effort is turned away.
The resulting corner is met by Mustafi, but he gets caught right underneath it and sends his header well over the crossbar.
There are less than 10 minutes remaining in this first half, and so far Ludogorets have enjoyed more possession and completed more passes than Arsenal. The hosts are leading, but this match isn't going the way most would have expected.
Another save for Ospina to make, but this one is simple for the keeper to collect. Anicet had broken forward and gone for goal, but it took a deflection off Koscielny which took the sting out of the shot.
Scrappy period of the game as both teams lose possession in quick succession. The game is still very open, though.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Ludogorets (Theo Walcott)
You can't keep Walcott off the scoresheet at the moment! He doubles Arsenal's lead and it is another fine strike, although questions could be asked of the keeper. Walcott collects the ball around 25 yards from goal and the winger curls a fine strike in from long range. The ball ended up fairly central, though, and the goalkeeper was still nowhere near it.
In fairness to Walcott, he struck that really well and the keeper didn't have too much chance to set himself. That is seven goals in six games for Walcott, just one fewer than he managed throughout the whole of last season.
CHANCE! One last chance in the first half for Arsenal as Sanchez meets a cross at the back post, but the keeper pushes it away.
HALF TIME: Arsenal 2-0 Ludogorets Razgrad
A quick an open first half comes to an end at the Emirates, then, and it is Arsenal who are in control at the interval. They have not had things all their own way by any means, though, with Ludogorets creating plenty of chances and seeing a lot of the ball. Even at 2-0 this match is not over, and Wenger will want to see some better defending from his side in the coming 45 minutes.
The opening goal came from Alexis Sanchez, and it was a memorable finish from the Chilean. The attacker came forward down the left side of the area before cutting inside to create space to shoot. The goalkeeper was off his line, and Sanchez lifted his finish over the keeper and into the far corner.
The keeper's position could also be called into question for the second goal, but once again it was a fine finish as Walcott continued his recent hot streak in front of goal with his seventh in six games. Ozil picked the in-form winger out just outside the area, but Walcott did the rest with a powerful curling finish.
There has been no shortage of chances at either end of the pitch, though. Ludogorets have caused plenty of problems with their pace in attack and even hit the post shortly after the half-hour mark through Wanderson. Ospina has also been forced into a few very important contributions to keep his clean sheet intact here.
KICKOFF: Ludogorets get us back underway for the second half at the Emirates Stadium as they look to turn this one around.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Ludogorets (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain)
Game over? Arsenal make a perfect start to the second half with a third goal, and it is Oxlade-Chamberlain who gets it. A low ball into the box fell very kindly for the winger, and he just tucked it away into the bottom corner.
CHANCE! Ludogorets have not come out flying in this second half by any means! Stoyanov is so slow to react to a loose ball inside the area, which almost allows Walcott to nip in, but the keeper just about gets an important hand to it.
SAVE! Koscielny climbs highest from the resulting corner but plants his header straight at the keeper.
Cafu looks to spark the visitors into life with a quick turn and long-range effort, but it flies well off target.
This really is a long way back for Ludogorets now. That third goal looks like the killer and, although the visitors have looked threatening when going forward, they ultimately look like paying for their wastefulness in front of goal.
There are more goals in this game, though. Some of the defending at both ends of the field has been questionable at best, so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw one or two more before this one is over.
GOAL! Arsenal 4-0 Ludogorets (Mesut Ozil)
This is far too easy for the hosts, who wrap this one up once and for all here. Koscielny makes a really good challenge on the edge of his own box and Cazorla immediately looks to play it forward. One ball beats the entire defence and Ozil races onto it before keeping his composure to slide a finish past the keeper.
ARSENAL SUB: The Gunners make the first change of the contest as Mohamed Elneny replaces Cazorla.
This scoreline has flattered Arsenal, it must be said. Against a team with more of a clinical edge they could have been in some trouble tonight, but as it is they look like picking up a hefty victory.
ARSENAL SUB: Another change from the home side as Walcott is replaced by Lucas Perez.
UPDATE: PSG are leading Basel 2-0 in the other match in Group A tonight, which means that they will keep pace with Arsenal on seven points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pace of Ludogorets's attack has slowed significantly in this second half. Those two goals in the second half have really killed their belief.
PENALTY SHOUT! Arsenal want a penalty here as Sanchez once again gets in behind before cutting in front of Palomino, who seems to bring him down. The referee says no, though. I've seen them given!
CHANCE! Chance for Arsenal to have a fifth, and this one would have been another brilliant goal! Ozil chips a delightful no-look pass over the defence for Oxlade-Chamberlain, who volleys it towards goal, but Stoyanov makes a good save.
Ludogorets still have 20 minutes to endure here, and Arsenal have begun to enjoy themselves a bit in the second half. They still look like they have some more goals in them here.
Almost a chance for a fifth as Oxlade-Chamberlain races forward down the left flank before picking out a cross for Lucas Perez. The summer signing gets across his man, but can't steer his shot on target.
ARSENAL SUB: Huge ovation from the Arsenal fans as Sanchez makes way to be replaced by Alex Iwobi.
It is very much damage limitation for Ludogorets now. They are not in any rush to get things going, and you can't really blame them. They had their moments in the first half, but they have been second best for the majority of this second half.
UPDATE: There is another English team in action tonight, but things have not gone to plan for Manchester City on Guardiola's return to Barcelona. Lionel Messi has scored a hat-trick to put Barca 3-0 up.
LUDOGORETS SUB: The visitors make a change as Jody Lukoki comes on in place of Wanderson.
GOAL! Arsenal 5-0 Ludogorets (Mesut Ozil)
Arsenal have a fifth, and it is two for Mesut Ozil! Again it is far too easy for the hosts as Oxlade-Chamberlain threaded a pass through for Lucas down the left flank. The Spaniard provides the killer ball across the face of goal for Ozil who is completely unmarked, and he fires his shot into the ground and over the keeper.
This second half has been more like a training session for Arsenal than a Champions League game. That goal at the start of the half killed Ludogorets off, and they are playing at walking pace right now.
GOAL! Arsenal 6-0 Ludogorets (Mesut Ozil)
Hat-trick for Ozil! Arsenal hit Ludogorets for six, and it is a first professional match ball for Ozil. Lucas lifted the pass in to him and Ozil just lashed a low strike in. Once again the keeper did not cover himself in glory, though.
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.
FULL TIME: Arsenal 6-0 Ludogorets
Arsenal make it seven wins in a row in all competitions, then, and they did it in some style in the end. A 6-0 drubbing of Ludogorets sees them move one step closer to the Champions League knockout rounds, with Ozil stealing the headlines courtesy of a second-half hat-trick. Sanchez, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain were all on the scoresheet too as Arsenal made light work of the Bulgarian champions.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Arsenal hit Ludogorets for six, including a first career hat-trick for Ozil. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Barney Corkhill
