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Noni Madueke scored twice as Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over Club Brugge, all but securing their place in the Champions League knockout stages with two group games still to play.
Madueke, who opened his Arsenal account against Bayern Munich a fortnight ago, struck after 25 minutes in Belgium.
The England international collected the ball just inside the Brugge half, shrugged off left-back Joaquin Seys and unleashed a fierce 22-yard drive that crashed in off the underside of the bar.
Just 80 seconds into the second half, Madueke doubled Arsenal’s lead, heading in Martin Zubimendi’s cross.
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Gabriel Martinelli sealed the victory and made history with a superb curling strike to become the first Arsenal player to score in five consecutive Champions League matches.
In a match reported by ESPN, Arsenal have now won all six of their European Cup group games, becoming only the fifth English club to achieve the feat after Manchester United, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City.
The top eight sides qualify automatically for the last 16, and Arsenal sit six points clear of ninth-placed Liverpool with a superior goal difference of 13.
Mikel Arteta’s side require just one more point — with fixtures against Inter Milan on January 20 and Kazakhstan’s Kairat at the Emirates a week later — to guarantee knockout football for a third straight season.
Brugge ended the first half strongly, with Carlos Forbs forcing David Raya into action, before the goalkeeper denied Christos Tzolis and Stankovic.
But any hope for the hosts evaporated two minutes after the restart when Madueke headed home his second. Ten minutes later, Martinelli cut inside and curled a stunning effort into the top corner.
Martinelli’s goal saw him surpass Gabriel Jesus’s club record for consecutive Champions League strikes. Moments later, Jesus made his long-awaited return from a 332-day injury layoff, replacing Viktor Gyökeres on the hour and later striking the woodwork.
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