Report: Inter 1-0 Arsenal (inc. goal)

Yesterday at 05:02 PM

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, White, Timber, Partey, Merino, Havertz, Martinelli, Saka, Trossard

Subs: Neto, Setford, Robinson, Lewis-Skelly, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Odegaard, Butler-Oyedeji, Sterling, Jesus

Arsenal suffered their first Champions League defeat of the season after losing 1-0 to Inter at San Siro, thanks to a controversial first half penalty from Hakan Calhanoglu.

Mikel Arteta made one change to the side that lost against Newcastle on Sunday, with Ben White replacing the injured Declan Rice who didn’t travel to Milan with the matchday squad.

In more positive news, captain Martin Odegaard was named among the substitutes after missing the last two months with an ankle injury suffered on international duty.

Arsenal made a poor start and could have fallen behind after two minutes when Denzel Dumfries found himself free at the back post but smacked his effort against the crossbar.

Moments later, Thomas Partey gave the ball away under zero pressure which gifted Calhanoglu a shot from distance which trickled just wide. Arteta was quickly up and out of his chair in frustration after watching his team early on.

Heading into the 20th minute, the Gunners did eventually get a foothold in the game and looked dangerous from set pieces although Inter defended two or three teasing deliveries well.

There was another chance for Inter after a mix up between Gabriel and Saliba on halfway, but after being played through on goal, central defender Yann Bisseck looked unconvincing and was eventually caught by the Brazilian.

Arsenal had a big chance to take the lead when Martinelli found Merino making a trademark late run into the box, who headed over under pressure from goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

However, replays showed the Spaniard was actually punched in the head by Sommer – who missed the ball completely – and was lucky not to concede a penalty despite VAR checking the incident.

Heading towards half time, the Gunners looked more assured and were keeping possession nicely without creating any clear opportunities, but would go into the break one goal down after conceding a penalty.

A seemingly harmless free kick was diverted towards goal by Mehdi Taremi whose flick hit the arm of Merino, which the referee had no issues giving after Inter raised their hands in appeal.

Handball rules are stricter in the Champions League but this was another incident where a player was penalised for simply having arms – not intentionally blocking the ball or making their bodies bigger. Calhanoglu stepped up and rolled the ball down the middle to give his side the lead. 1-0.

Arteta wasted little time looking to change things at half time, bringing Gabriel Jesus on for Merino in what could only be described as an attacking switch.

After an even start to the second half, Arsenal were inches away from equalising after Gabriel attacked another Bukayo Saka corner well at the near post but his glancing effort was cleared off the line by Dumfries.

Havertz almost scored an audacious curler (chip?) moments later but Sommer reacted well to tip over the bar, when the shot initially looked destined for the top corner.

With half an hour to play, Arteta was amusingly next to be carded after grabbing the ball before it had gone out of play by the touchline, to the amusement of the referee.

There was another great chance for Havertz after a deflected Martinelli cross fell his way in the penalty area, but his quick touch and shot was blocked brilliantly by Bisseck who threw himself in front of the ball and stopped a certain goal.

With ten minutes remaining, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ethan Nwaneri replaced Jurrien Timber and Leandro Trossard, with the latter unable to influence the game in attacking areas again.

Despite dominating possession and launching a series of crosses into the Inter box, the Gunners couldn’t find space or that necessary bit of luck to force any opportunities which summed up another frustrating night.

Nwaneri did show one moment of brilliance, dancing away from Davide Frattesi on the half turn but blazed his shot over from 20 yards after it opened up for him.

The Nerazzurri are a good team with a strong home record, but Arsenal showed signs of improvement from recent performances and ultimately – the difference between both teams was a harshly awarded penalty.

Arteta and his team won’t take much comfort in the result but the extended Champions League format allows them to, ahead of another big away game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

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