Arsenal had a surprise guest on the pitch after their 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday: UFC star Conor McGregor.
McGregor was spotted at the Emirates exchanging passes with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice. Saka had earlier scored Arsenal's second goal of the first half to put Arsenal in a comfortable position in the match.
McGregor has not fought in UFC since his second straight defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021, and though he had been slated to fight Michael Chandler this year, a toe injury suffered in sparring postponed the fight. UFC supremo Dana White said in August that the former two-division world champion would not be in action until 2025 at the earliest.
Saka's goal added to Kai Havertz's header after a clever run in the 20th minute. Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta lavished praise on the Germany international after the game.
Sign him up @Arsenal!! 🤣🤣 @TheNotoriousMMA @BukayoSaka87 pic.twitter.com/gR3O7jApvh
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) October 2, 2024
"He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together," Arteta said.
"His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment."
Arsenal's win over PSG left them eighth in the revamped Champions League league phase table, with the top eight teams qualifying automatically for the round of 16.
PSG, whose coach Luis Enrique said after the game that they were outmatched by a "superior" Arsenal team, are 18th out of 36 teams.