Arsenal's rotated squad weren't up to par, but Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard's substitutions changed the game

Arsenal were ultimately too much for Lille as the lineup changes showed that sometimes depth just means giving your stars an hour off LONDON — Depth is nice, especially when you have as much of it as Arsenal, two deep in every position, able to shade an injury at left back by simply shunting their England international center midfielder into the other position where he has excelled against some of the best in the world. Ultimately, though Mikel Arteta can be bequeathed as many options as Andrea Berta can rustle up, there's no way that you are not going to feel the absence of a fit and in-form Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.

That much was clear as Lille became the latest side to be overwhelmed by what Arteta likes to term his finishers, a role that his substitutes certainly lived up to in the final 25 minutes at the Emirates Stadium. The breakthrough had just come when Arteta deployed Saka, Odegaard and Kai Havertz, a clipped finish by Jurrien Timber bringing relief to an antsy ground that had seen too many promising attacks die just outside the penalty area. Arsenal had been too slow, too desynchronised, too often in each other's way. It said everything about the quartet that had started the game that right back Timber looked as