LONDON (Reuters) -Arsenal outclassed Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 to all but guarantee a spot in the Champions League knockout phase with Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard all on target on Wednesday.
Rice struck inside the opening two minutes after a clever lay-off by Havertz and the German put Arsenal in full control with a 66th-minute header.
Captain Odegaard put the icing on the cake of a clinical Arsenal display with a third in stoppage time -- his first goal in 14 games in all competitions.
Victory lifted Arsenal to third in the standings on 16 points and with the top eight qualifying automatically for the last 16 only an extraordinary sequence of freak results in next week's final round of group matches could deny the London club.
They are three points clear of the sides in ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13 places who would all need to win along with a massive Arsenal loss away to Girona.
A draw would be enough in Spain to avoid any possibility of being dragged into a two-legged playoff in February.
Defeat for Fabio Cannavaro's Dinamo side left them in the elimination places ahead of their last match at home to AC Milan which they will have to win to stand any chance of a playoff.
"Look it was an important win tonight. It's been a very positive Champions League campaign, so we've got one more to go now, hopefully we can win that as well," Rice told reporters.
"What I learnt from last year is that you need to be there or thereabouts at this time of the season and we are at the minute."
Arsenal's Premier League title challenge suffered a blow when they were held 2-2 by Aston Villa on Saturday after leading 2-0 -- a result that left them six points behind Liverpool.
They have been extremely reliable in the Champions League, however, and are now unbeaten at the Emirates Stadium in their last 15 UEFA competition matches.
A fifth win in seven games in this season's revamped competition was always on the cards once Rice drilled a low shot past Ivan Nevistic after Havertz had cushioned a pass to him from a Gabriel Martinelli cross.
It was Rice's first goal in the Champions League.
Arsenal were occasionally ruffled on the counter-attack as Dinamo showed plenty of pace going forward but the visitors lacked a cutting edge.
Arteta's side began the second half in lacklustre fashion but once the excellent Martinelli crossed for Havertz to plant a header past Nevistic the victory was inevitable.
Rice should have added his second when he headed wastefully wide but Odegaard made no mistake late on.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
