Twelve wins in a row and counting. On a night when Arsenal remembered Ken Friar – the club's life president who was instrumental in their move from Highbury to the Emirates in 2006 – it was fitting that Mikel Arteta's side should rack up yet another Champions League milestone at their home that has become a fortress.
Such has Arsenal's dominance been here in recent seasons that when Bukayo Saka slotted home their third against a dogged Lille side, it was the 36th goal they have scored at the Emirates in the league or group stage since returning to Europe's top table under Arteta three years ago. In those 12 wins, they have remarkably conceded only three times.
Arsenal have also now racked up 14 successive league-stage victories in this competition – three short of Bayern Munich's record – even if Arteta's side were made to work for this one and had to wait until the 64th minute to find the breakthrough. That came from the unlikely source of Jurriën Timber after Arsenal's second-string attack – and Viktor Gyökeres in particular – had looked laboured. But while Arteta may be concerned that it needed the introduction of Saka from the bench along with Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz to put this game to bed as Eberechi Eze added a second before Saka rounded off the scoring with a third in the space of seven minutes, they never looked in any danger of losing their proud record as Olivier Giroud received a standing ovation on his return to north London.
"I'm sure he is very happy to see how the boys played. But not only that, because I know how proud he felt about what we built," said Arteta of Friar. "It's a really sad day for everyone who loves football. The legacy that Ken is going to leave for this club is going to be for ever."
Arsenal had earlier paid tribute to Friar, who worked his way up from the box office to club secretary before becoming managing director in the 1980s, when his death at the age of 92 was confirmed. The players wore black armbands as a mark of respect. Friar would have been especially proud of their formidable record here under Arteta in this competition that stretches back to the 2023-24 season, when they returned to the tournament after an absence of six years. It is little wonder that Arteta was so reluctant for redevelopment plans to go ahead given the disruption any temporary move away to Wembley or elsewhere would have caused.
Despite the absence of Piero Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi after they were both injured during the warm-down after the victory over Leeds on Saturday, the Arsenal manager was still able to make five changes. Lille's manager, Davide Ancelotti, who worked under his father, Carlo, at Everton and Real Madrid among others before being appointed during the summer in only his second senior role, resisted the temptation to start with 40-year-old Giroud against his former club.
Restored to his favoured right flank after excelling on the left against Leeds, it had not been saying much that Noni Madueke had once again been Arsenal's most dangerous outlet in a first half in which they struggled to create much against a deep-lying defence.
Bruno Guimarães and then Mikel Merino spurned decent chances, while Ayase Ueda had the ball in David Raya's net after Nabil Bentaleb's shot deflected off Timber and hit Hákon Haraldsson on the way through, with the video assistant referee confirming the Japan striker was marginally offside.
But Arsenal lacked creativity without Ødegaard and Gyökeres showing plenty of hustle and bustle yet making little real impact.
It summed Arsenal's first half up when he could not get out of the way after Eze forced Berke Ozer into his first proper save and was promptly flagged offside. Ozer then had to scramble the ball away from the feet of the Sweden striker after spilling a shot from Guimarães on the stroke of half-time.
The referee, Felix Zwayer, waved away appeals at the start of the second half when Guimarães went down in the area under pressure from Alexsandro but the Arsenal midfielder seemed to be looking for the contact. A wayward effort that almost made it into the upper tier from Madueke was the signal for Arteta to summon Ødegaard, Saka and Havertz to get ready.
Before they had time to be introduced, Arsenal finally found the breakthrough when Madueke picked out Timber to apply a deft finish with his right foot after a brilliant first touch. Saka made an immediate impact by setting up Eze to dispatch the second with his left foot – possibly with the help of a deflection – less than three minutes later, before adding a third after combining with Havertz and Ødegaard. Lille must have wondered what had hit them.
As well as the chance to pay their respects to Giroud, the Arsenal fans were treated to a late cameo from the dazzling Max Dowman to round off another very satisfying evening that has become the norm.