Arsenal won 3-0 against Lille at the Emirates Stadium to make it two wins out of two in the Champions League.

Despite a cagey first half, Mikel Arteta’s side cruised past the French side in the second half, scoring three goals in the space of eight minutes.

An interesting narrative heading into the game was the return of Olivier Giroud, who scored 105 goals for the Gunners during his six-year stint in North London. Of course, he then moved to Chelsea for whom he would score against Arsenal in the dismal 2019 Europa League defeat.

That complicated his relationship with the fanbase, so there was an air of mystery around how the Arsenal faithful would react if and when Giroud came onto the pitch. The 40-year-old was named on the bench, and came on in the 78th minute replacing Ayase Ueda.

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Arsenal get the job done and beat Lille 3-0! What did you make of that performance? 👀

Feeling rather jovial with their team 3-0 up, the Emirates crowd gave him a standing ovation in what was a nice moment for the Frenchman. Giroud made clear the emotional connection he still has to Arsenal in the lead-up to the game, so that would have meant a lot to him.

He was comfortably on the losing side in the end, though. Jurrien Timber opened the scoring with an outstanding first touch and a delicate lifted finish after Noni Madueke had found space down the right.

Eberechi Eze swept home at the near post after Martin Odegaard robbed former Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb and slipped in Bukayo Saka to pull it back. Then the three substitutes combined — Odegaard sliding in Kai Havertz, who pulled it back for Saka to roll into the bottom corner. Majestic.

Arsenal were 3-0 up and cruising and you do have to wonder whether the reception for Giroud would have been quite so warm had they been trailing. Football crowds are funny like that.

But tonight, Giroud got his ovation and Arteta, who embraced his former teammate on the pitch after the final whistle, will have appreciated that.