By 90min | Created at 2024-11-07 17:33:07 | Updated at 2024-11-15 10:30:09
1 week ago
Arsenal suffered their first defeat in the Champions League this season as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter at San Siro on Wednesday night.
The Gunners were unable to evoke the spirit of November 2003 - their last meeting with Inter when Thierry Henry inspired a 5-1 win - as Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty condemned Mikel Arteta's side to back-to-back losses after already being beaten at Newcastle United last weekend.
The result sees Arsenal slip down to 12th in the league phase table, while Inter are impressively up to fifth after grinding out a huge win.
How the game unfolded
Arsenal welcomed captain Martin Odegaard back to the substitutes bench at San Siro but were without Declan Rice. But they were facing an Inter team that perhaps had one eye on their upcoming top-of-the table Serie A clash with Napoli at the weekend.
Simone Inzaghi has been happy to rotate in midweek given the depth of his squad, and he left the likes of Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, and Marcus Thuram on the bench here. However, they were rapid out of the blocks and almost a goal ahead within five minutes when Denzel Dumfries' shot rattled the crossbar. Calhanoglu then came close with an effort from distance.
The Gunners did ease into the contest and started to have success out of possession against Inter's proficient build-up. They prevented the Nerazzurri's metronomes from dictating the contest, forcing Yann Sommer into low-percentage passes out wide.
On the ball, Arsenal did a good job of pinning accessing their wide players and isolating Bukayo Saka up against either Matteo Darmian or Yann Bisseck. While they struggled to fashion a clear-cut opening in the first half, Arteta would've entered the break the happier of the two managers had Mikel Merino not been punished for a controversial handball inside the Arsenal box on the stroke of half-time. Calhanoglu dispatched the spot-kick to hand the hosts a 1-0 advantage.
Inter's lead didn't exactly embolden them after the restart, though, with the visitors enjoying sustained periods of pressure around the box. Arsenal continued to threaten from corners, forcing Dumfries into a goal-line clearance, while Kai Havertz drew a smart save out of Sommer from a cross-cum-shot. Havertz was then denied by a superb Bisseck block after the ball fell kindly to him.
Arsenal's pressure forced Inter to shut up shop, with Inzaghi making changes to aid his side's ability to see out the game. The Nerazzurri were content with surrendering the game to their visitors, forcing them into crossing the ball relentlessly. The hosts were well-stocked to deal with such a threat, and they saw the game out as Odegaard enjoyed a brief cameo in stoppage time.
Hakan Calhanoglu was cool from the spot / GABRIEL BOUYS/GettyImages
GK: Yann Sommer - 7/10 - May have gotten away with a late punch on Merino when trying to claim, but made the saves he had to make - of which there were few despite Arsenals' pressure.
CB: Benjamin Pavard - 8/10 - Positioning when defending crosses from the right was excellent and was efficient enough with the ball, but he struggled to break Arsenal's press. Aeriel monster in the closing stages.
CB: Stefan de Vrij - 8/10 - The wily veteran marshalled his defence expertly when the going got tough late on.
CB: Yann Bisseck - 9/10 - This was a coming-of-age performance from the young defender, who did not put a foot wrong. When he was asked to defend about five yards from his goal for the final 20 minutes, Bisseck won every header and made a key block to deny Havertz from equalising.
RWB: Denzel Dumfries - 8/10 - Attacking threat manifested early on, but we didn't see too much of him near David Raya's goal after he rattled the crossbar. Made an excellent goal-saving clearance from Gabriel.
CM: Hakan Calhanoglu - 8/10 - Still being eased in having returned from an injury fairly recently, Calhanoglu got through 70 minutes of canny work with and without the ball while maintaining his perfect penalty record.
CM: Davide Frattesi - 5/10 - The Italian international was quiet during his hour-long outing, barely touching the ball.
CM: Piotr Zielinski - 6/10 - The Pole was bright early on but saw his influence wane pretty swiftly outside of winning a few handy fouls.
ST: Mehdi Taremi - 5/10 - A bit of nuisance but not much else. Taremi struggled to connect with colleagues, especially when his team needed him most in the second half.
ST: Lautaro Martinez - 6/10 - Had some success on the breakaway and was good in the second half at serving as Inter's attacking fulcrum before he was taken off on the hour.
Substitutes
SUB: Marcus Thuram (62' for Martinez) - 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 team were second best for much of this contest, although the manager did rotate his starting XI which likely led to a drop-off in performance. Their defensive display late on was immense.
Arsenal player ratings (4-2-4)
Arsenal were beaten in Milan / GABRIEL BOUYS/GettyImages
GK: David Raya - 6/10 - Conceded his first goal of the league phase from the spot. Bystander in the second half.
RB: Ben White - 6/10 - Backed up Arsenal's press well with Inter rarely progressing down his flank. Could've been a bit cleaner with his actions in the final third.
CB: William Saliba - 8/10 - Deserves plenty of credit in ensuring Arsenal sustained pressure throughout the second half. Recovery running rendered Inter's in-behind threat null and void, even when Thuram came on.
CB: Gabriel - 8/10 - If Saliba's recovery running was key in shunning the hosts, then Gabriel's aggression was equally important. Had one or two miscommunications with his partner, but that was all in a negative sense.
LB: Jurrien Timber - 8/10 - Struggled against the physicality of Dumfries early on but quickly settled and produced an assured performance. Crossed at will, with some of his deliveries leading to good chances - including Havertz's big opportunity in the second half.
CM: Thomas Partey - 9/10 - Partey's enjoying a good run of form and he was brilliant again here. The Ghanaian was assured throughout, mopping up second balls at will and retaining possession astutely in tough spots. This was a performance out of his vintage.
CM: Mikel Merino - 5/10 - Looked a little bit clumsy in possession, but did see his value from a duel-winning perspective. Harshly done to with the handball decision at the end of the first half, before he was withdrawn at the break.
RW: Bukayo Saka - 6/10 - Inter paid close attention to Saka, who was not at his best. Found it tough to bypass multiple defenders and his decision-making was sub-par at times.
ST: Kai Havertz - 7/10 - Served as an effective focal point in the first half, with Havertz generally sticking to a central position. The German had a couple of sniffs in the box but couldn't convert and was generally out-duelled.
ST: Leandro Trossard - 5/10 - Initially deployed in his free-role, Trossard once again struggled technically and really didn't offer much outside of a bit of energy. Dropped deeper in the second half, but influence didn't significantly increase.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli - 6/10 - Had plenty of one-v-one situations down the left, but didn't take full advantage. Was typically 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 won't be too concerned with the performance. Arsenal controlled this contest, although they were stifled during the game's final act. Odegaard's return will help massively.
