Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard came off the substitutes bench to find the back of the net as Arsenal defeated Athletic Club to get their Champions League campaign off to a victorious start.
Martinelli scored just 36 seconds after his introduction, with Belgium striker Trossard putting him through on goal in the 71st minute.
The Brazil winger then returned the favour, beating his man and giving the ball to Trossard to squeeze in the second in the 86th minute.
It was a tough match for Arsenal at times and Bilbao-based Athletic Club, back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2014-15 season, were backed by a vociferous home crowd and started the game extremely fast.
The home side had Arsenal pinned back for the opening period of the game, with Alejandro Berenguer causing particular problems for the Arsenal backline.
Arsenal struggled to get hold of the game in the first half but did have the best chance of the opening 45 minutes when Viktor Gyokeres put a diving header wide from close range.
It was not one of the best performances from Arteta’s side but, with three points and another clean sheet in the opening game, their Champions League campaign has started perfectly.
