Arsenal suffered their first Champions League defeat of the season after Inter were beaten 1-0 at the San Siro on Wednesday night.
The Gunners failed to evoke the spirit of November 2003 – their last meeting with Inter when Thierry Henry inspired a 5-1 victory – as Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty doomed Mikel Arteta’s side on a back-to-back losing streak after being beaten at Newcastle United last year. weekend
The result sees Arsenal drop to 12th in the league stage standings, while Inter move impressively up to fifth after a big win.
How the game developed
Arsenal welcomed captain Martin Odegaard back to the bench at the San Siro but were without Declan Rice. But they were up against an Inter side who may have one eye on their upcoming Serie A clash with Napoli at the weekend.
Simone Inzaghi was happy to rotate in midweek given the depth of his squad, leaving the likes of Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco and Marcus Thuram on the bench. However, they were quick out of the blocks and almost a goal ahead inside five minutes when Denzel Dumfries’ shot rattled the crossbar. Calhanoglu then went close with an effort from distance.
The Gunners eased into the game and began to have success out of possession in the face of Inter’s ability. They prevented the Nerazzurri’s metronomes from dictating the contest, forcing Yann Sommer to make low-percentage passes out wide.
On the ball, Arsenal did a good job of setting up access to their wide players and isolating Bukayo Saka against Matteo Darmian or Yann Bisseck. As they struggled to carve out a clear opening in the first half, Arteta would have gone into the break the happier of the two managers had Mikel Merino not been booked for a controversial handball inside the Arsenal box in the half part Calhanoglu took the spot kick to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Inter’s lead didn’t exactly cheer them on after the restart, but the visitors enjoyed periods of sustained pressure in the box. Arsenal continued to threaten from corners, forcing Dumfries to clear the goal line, while Kai Havertz brought out a smart save from Sommer’s cross. Havertz was denied by a superb block from Bisseck after the ball fell kindly to him.
Pressure from Arsenal forced Inter to shut up shop, with Inzaghi making changes to help his side see the game out. The Nerazzurri were content to concede the game to their visitors, forcing them to cross the ball relentlessly. The hosts were well equipped to deal with that threat, and saw the game out as Odegaard enjoyed a brief stoppage time cameo.
GK: Yann Sommer – 7/10 – He may have got away with a late punch on Merino as he tried to claim, but he made the saves he needed to make, which were few and far between despite Arsenal’s pressure.
CB: Benjamin Pavard – 8/10 – His positioning when defending crosses from the right was excellent and he was efficient enough on the ball but struggled to break Arsenal’s pressure. Aerial monster in the final stages.
CB: Stefan de Vrij – 8/10 – The wily veteran organized his defense expertly when the going got tough at the end.
CB: Yann Bisseck – 9/10 – It was a coming-of-age performance from the young defender, who made no mistake. Asked to defend within five yards of his goal for the final 20 minutes, Bisseck won every header and made a key block to deny Havertz an equaliser.
RWB: Denzel Dumfries – 8/10 – The attacking threat was evident early on, but we didn’t see it too close to David Raya’s goal after he hit the crossbar. Made an excellent clearance from Gabriel.
CM: Hakan Calhanoglu – 8/10 – Still at ease having recently returned from injury, Calhanoglu spent 70 minutes of astute work on and off the ball, maintaining his perfect penalty record.
CM: Davide Frattesi – 5/10 – The Italy international was quiet during his hour-long outing, barely touching the ball.
CM: Piotr Zielinski – 6/10 – The Pole was brilliant early on but saw his influence wane fairly quickly outside of winning a few useful fouls.
ST: Mehdi Taremi – 5/10 – A bit of a hassle but not much more. Taremi struggled to connect with teammates, especially when his team needed him most in the second half.
ST: Lautaro Martinez – 6/10 – He had some success on the break and was good in the second half to serve as Inter’s focal point before being withdrawn on the hour.
Substitutes
SUB: Marcus Thuram (62′ for MartÃnez) – 5/10
SUB: Nicolo Barella (62′ for Frattesi) – 6/10
SUB: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (62′ for Zielinski) – 7/10
SUB: Kristjan Asllani (71′ for Calhanoglu) – 6/10
SUB: Federico Dimarco (79′ for Taremi) – 6/10
Subs not used: Raffaele Di Gennaro (GK), Josep Martinez (GK), Marko Arnautovic, Francesco Acerbi, Tajon Buchanan, Alessandro Bastoni.
manager
Simone Inzaghi – 6/10 – His Inter side were second-best for much of this competition, although the manager rotated his starting eleven, which likely led to a dip in performance. His defensive display at the end was immense.
GK: David Raya – 6/10 – He scored his first goal of the league stage from the spot. Observer in the second part.
RB: Ben White – 6/10 – He has supported Arsenal’s press well with Inter rarely advancing down his flank. He could have been a little cleaner with his actions in the final third.
CB: William Saliba – 8/10 – He deserves a lot of credit for making sure Arsenal kept up the pressure in the second half. The recovery made Inter’s internal threat null and void, even when Thuram came on.
CB: Gabriel – 8/10 – If Saliba’s recovery was key to keeping the hosts at bay, then Gabriel’s aggression was equally important. He had one or two communication issues with his partner, but it was all in a negative way.
LB: Jurrien Timber – 8/10 – He struggled against Dumfries’ physicality early on but settled quickly and produced an assured performance. Crossed at will, with some of his deliveries leading to good chances, including Havertz’s great chance in the second half.
CM: Thomas Partey – 9/10 – Partey is enjoying a good run of form and was brilliant here again. The Ghanaian was assured throughout, clearing second balls at will and keeping possession shrewdly in difficult spots. This was a performance of his vintage.
CM: Mikel Merino – 5/10 – He looked a little clumsy in possession, but saw his value from a duel-winning perspective. Roughly with the handball decision at the end of the first half, before being withdrawn at half-time.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 6/10 – Inter paid a lot of attention to Saka, who was not at his best. It was difficult to avoid several defenders and his decision-making was sometimes insufficient.
ST: Kai Havertz – 7/10 – He served as an effective focal point in the first half, with Havertz generally stuck in a central position. The German had a couple of sniffs in the box but couldn’t convert and was generally outplayed.
ST: Leandro Trossard – 5/10 – Initially deployed in his free role, Trossard once again struggled technically and didn’t really offer much other than some energy. He fell deeper in the second half, but the influence did not increase significantly.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 6/10 – He had a lot of one-on-one situations on the left, but he didn’t make the most of it. It was usually bright without much substance.
Substitutes
SUB: Gabriel Jesus (46′ for Merino) – 5/10
SUB: Ethan Nwaneri (82′ for Trossard) – 6/10
SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (82′ for Timber) – 5/10
SUB: Martin Odegaard (90′ for Havertz) – N/A
Subs not used: Neto (GK), Tommy Setford (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, Raheem Sterling, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Joshua Robinson.
manager
Mikel Arteta – 7/10 – The defeat comes at a bad time, but Arteta will not worry too much about the performance. Arsenal controlled this contest, although they stifled in the final act of the game. The return of Odegaard will help enormously.
