A punter lost £1,000 in seconds after Arsenal’s early goal against Kairat Almaty.
Mikel Arteta’s side cruised to a 3-2 victory against the minnows and secured themselves top spot in the Champions League – winning all eight of their matches.
They took the lead within the first two minutes at the Emirates Stadium, after Kai Havertz coolly slotted Viktor Gyokeres to fire low into the net.
That set the tone for a slick night for the Premier League leaders, but it wasn’t all good news for the millions of viewers watching on, especially those with money on the line.
Huge Champions League Goal Bet Backfires
Taking to X, an account named Corner City Tips proudly declared they had ‘dumped’ £1k on a huge bet with Paddy Power.
The wager would have returned £2,625, but was reliant on no goals being scored in the first three minutes across all 18 league phase fixtures on Wednesday night.
“0 goals in 2:59 mins, thank me later,” the user said, clearly believing it was a surefire banker.
Instead, it proved anything but.
Gyokeres’ early dagger came less than 180 seconds after kick-off, and saw the punter’s staggering stake disappear in the blink of an eye.
Cruelly, he had replied “easy money, no?” to a user urging him to change his mind on Tuesday.
X users were unsurprisingly quick to react to the bombshell, with some adding insult to injury.
One wrote: “£1000 gone in 120 seconds, my head would be on MARS.”
“The bookie thanks you for your donation,” said another.
A third piled on the misery, posting: “The single worst bet you’ll see tonight. Atrocious doesn’t do it justice. In fact, it’s probably the worst you’ll see all season.”
Undeterred, Corner City Tips shared another wager they had made for the Europa League ahead of Thursday night, bravely adding: “Let’s try again.”
They may also be tempted to have a flutter on Arsenal winning the Champions League. At the time of writing, their latest odds stood at 7/2.
Mikel Arteta Reacts After Arsenal Win
Post-match, Arteta praised his players for a job well done, pointing to their determination to bounce back after a shaky Premier League run.
“Yes, I’m very proud of the players and the run that we had in this first stage,” he said.
“It’s very difficult to win eight games in a row in the Champions League, and you can see what happened with all the teams.
“We really need to acknowledge that. Today’s game, with a lot of changes as well, started in a really good way. The attitude was spot on from everybody. We demanded that.
“[We were] disappointed with the two goals that we conceded, and as well with the level of efficiency because we should have scored many more in the game.
“But I think it was a good way to end the competition in the first part.”
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Benfica’s goalkeeper scored a dramatic late goal against Real Madrid to send them through to the play-offs by the skin of their teeth.
