Well, as they say, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again. And again. And again.Arsenal’s 2026-27 Champions League opener was hardly a classic, but their 1-0 win at Napoli had a resonance that should not be overlooked. Arsenal’s recent history has been dominated by the imagery of them pounding the rock. Until last season, when they finally won the Premier League after three successive second-place finishes, it seemed like that particular rock would never crack.Their perseverance ensured it would eventually, and having made strides year-on-year in the Champions League (reaching the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in successive seasons), this type of European trip may have been the reality check they needed to start a campaign when they hope to go one better than being last year’s runners-up.Mikel Arteta’s side had 26 shots in Naples, their most in a Champions League game, and ended the match with an expected goals (xG) tally of 4.05. Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie took turns to ensure the Napoli ball boys made use of the stadium’s running track before Arsenal’s attention turned to one particular area of the pitch.The right-half space that has been home to Martin Odegaard over the years was peppered with passes back and forth for what felt like an age before Bruno Guimaraes, Ben White, Christos Tzolis and Odegaard himself worked the opening for his fourth goal in five games this season.“Very happy,” was Arteta’s reflection. “The way we attacked the game from the very first minute, the way we competed, the clarity we had, how we had to attack them, how we had to disorganise them. The purpose, the quality, the amount of chances we generated for… the scoreline has to reflect a very different result. It should have been much bigger.”Mikel Arteta is hoping to go one better this season and win the Champions League (Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)Considering the way his season was already going, was it any surprise that Arsenal’s captain was the one to step up again?“That’s what we need,” Arteta added. “Players with that mindset to decide the game and to play with that personality that an action might not happen, (but) it’s the next one, the next one. Keep insisting and keep taking chances and risks. He’s getting into those positions much more in recent games and I feel he has this emotional state that he knows the ball can go in and he is playing an incredible football match.“Yes (Arteta has asked Odegaard to get into those positions more) because he can and we have a lot of players that can progress the ball much better than we did in the past. When that happens, he can take better heights, angles and positions to disorganise the opponents.”That insistence on getting into those positions to take risks required courage from Odegaard, but also recognition from Arteta that subtle changes could help. Viktor Gyokeres had become less effective the longer his first start of the season went on, while Saka began to drift, but the second-half introductions of Kai Havertz and Tzolis helped build some connective tissue in the final third.Still, having the ability to make game-changing substitutions in the Champions League will be vital to Arteta. One aspect of letting both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard go this summer that needs consideration is their efficiency in Europe. Last season, Martinelli was Arsenal’s top scorer in the Champions League with six goals, while Trossard was their top assist-maker with four.Odegaard started the game, but Tzolis’ cameo and willingness to come off the left wing helped craft the winning goal. Another strong performer at the start of this season, that was his third assist of the campaign, and all three have been for Odegaard (his cross for Saka’s goal against Coventry City counted as a Fantasy Premier League assist, but Opta did not register it due to the goalkeeper’s touch).It must also be said that the introduction of Guimaraes was a much-needed injection of energy, as he attempted two passes in behind within minutes of coming on. Once he fine-tuned his radar, he was able to play a role in the winner.For how driven Arsenal were with the ball, Napoli manager Massimiliano Allegri knew the scale of his team’s task before kick-off.