Arsenal 1 - Shakhtar Donetsk 0 match report: labored
Today at 05:24 PM
The Gunners made themselves work harder than they needed to secure the victory.
Arsenal defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at the Emirates to remain unbeaten in the Champions League. It wasn't the prettiest of wins, the end of the second half in particular, but they can't all be scintillating. The Gunners clearly aren't firing on all cylinders with key players out and a revolving door on the training room for others. The glass half-full view says it's impressive they're finding ways to win. The glass half-empty perspective cautions that the schedule gets tough for a few weeks and playing this way won't cut it.
The Gunners played well in the first half. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were particularly bright and generated a couple good chances. If Arsenal keep generating chances, the goals will come. The attack looked much better than in the opening 30 minutes against Bournemouth, which eases some of my concern. Still, the only goal in the match came off a Martinelli shot hitting a defender's knee, the post, and in off the keeper's rear end. Arsenal could do with scoring a few more goals. The return of Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard to the lineup, hopefully sooner rather than later, should help with that.
At halftime, I felt as if Arsenal would get another goal or two in the second 45 if they kept playing the same way. But the match changed. Shakhtar tweaked their formation and the Gunners seemed to run out of gas a bit. The second half vibes were really off. Leandro Trossard had a poor penalty attempt saved. Injuries didn't help things, either.
Ben White came off at halftime, which pushed Thomas Partey to right back. White was combining well with Gabriel Jesus down the right wing, so Arsenal lost that attacking combination. Partey was one of the better players on the pitch in the center of the park. Taking him out of the midfield hurt Arsenal's ability to control and dictate the match.
Midway through the second half, Riccardo Calafiori had to come off with what appeared to be a knee problem. It didn't look great, either. He tried to continue after getting checked and walked off under his own power but he seemed to know something was wrong. Hopefully it's nothing serious but I'm a bit concerned he could miss a couple weeks.
It also looked as if Leandro Trossard was limping slightly as he came off the pitch late in the match. He definitely winced, too. The Gunners really can't afford many more injuries. Although the flip side of it is that Mikel Arteta may be forced into playing Ethan Nwaneri for lack of any other options.
Usually when Arsenal shut it down in one-goal games, they don't allow the opposition a sniff at goal. But Shakhtar had their chances. David Raya had to make a really good save on a shot from distance and a strong claim on a ball in the air. It was not a vintage Arsenal performance. They didn't "escape" with a win but it didn't feel nearly as secure and controlled as it normally does.
A win is a win. Arsenal have seven points from three matches in the Champions League table and are up to fourth, pending tomorrow's results. They're on pace and on schedule to finish in the all-important top 8 and avoid an extra two-legged tie.
They'll need to sort out some things before Liverpool visits the Emirates on Sunday, though. They're not playing at a level that is likely to beat the Reds. Come on you Arsenal medical staff!
