by Mikel Arteta’s problems keep piling up. In the week they were rocked by the surprise resignation of sporting director Edu, Arsenal gave up their unbeaten Champions League record after Hakan Calhanoglu maintained his record of never missing a penalty so Inter scores the only goal in a closely contested match. .
It was a maddening occasion for Arteta, who was booked in the second half for handball and nearly sent to the stands as his side searched for an equalizer. But despite a much-improved second half which saw the visitors rack up 13 corners to Inter’s none, they slumped to a second consecutive 1-0 away defeat.
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Arsenal’s last visit to face Inter in this cavernous arena almost 21 years ago resulted in one of the most famous European nights in their history, with Edu starting in midfield alongside Ray Parlor as Arsène Wenger’s side recorded a memorable 5-1 victory which ended. by a brilliant solitary goal from Thierry Henry. After failing to win any of their last three Premier League matches, a return to continental action was hailed by Arteta as “the kind of game that gets my blood pumping” and he would have been delighted to be able to appoint Martin Ødegaard as a replacement. after the captain missed 12 games with an ankle injury.
In the absence of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey reverted to a central midfield role while Ben White was able to start in a group of four first-choice backs who were yet to concede a goal in the Champions League after three matches. Inter had also collected three clean sheets but had scored two more goals than their opponents to sit just above them in the standings. Their manager, Simone Inzaghi, rested five key players for their win over Venice on Sunday, including Calhanoglu and Mehdi Taremi, and they were reinstated into the starting lineup here.
Inzaghi had said his side would strive to maintain possession to nullify Arsenal’s attacking threat, but it was the Italian champions who took the initiative. Barely 100 seconds had passed when Denzel Dumfries fired a shot against David Raya’s crossbar before Calhanoglu fired narrowly wide.
Arsenal were struggling to find their rhythm and it took a timely intervention from Gabriel Magalhães to push away Taremi’s dangerous low ball into the box. The Brazilian defender was booked after shoving Inter captain Lautaro Martínez as Arsenal prepared to take their first corner. Arteta used a break in play to give some instructions to Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Martinelli, presumably in an attempt to ease the Dumfries danger.
Martinelli was able to make the most of some excellent play from Bukayo Saka before the stand-in captain saved Arsenal’s first shot on target in the 27th minute after cutting in from the right flank. A wicked cross from Martinelli was then inches away from hitting Mikel Merino’s forehead, with the Spaniard receiving a blow to the head as Yann Sommer clearly struck, but VAR did not ask the referee to review the incident .
Despite all their previous attempts, Inter had yet to test Raya, but the opportunity presented itself just before half-time when the Romanian referee awarded Merino a penalty after the ball hit his arm on a volley from Taremi at close range. There was little the Spanish midfielder could have done as – much to Arteta’s anger – Calhanoglu scored from the spot to give the hosts the lead.
This proved to be Merino’s final act of the evening as he was replaced by Gabriel Jesus for the second half as Kai Havertz dropped to midfield. Arsenal looked determined to find a way back into the game as Martinelli fired into the side netting before William Saliba missed his jumper from a corner with the goal gaping. They almost scored from their next corner when Gabriel won a header at the near post, but Dumfries managed to clear off the line.
Ødegaard watched him intently as he warmed up on the sidelines, although it was Inter who gave him new legs with a triple substitution just after the hour mark. Arteta then received a strange yellow card after recovering the ball while still on the pitch, with Inter benefiting from a free kick. The referee gave the Arsenal manager a final warning minutes later when he protested another decision as his frustration began to boil over. Havertz had a golden opportunity to equalize when Leandro Trossard’s cross found its way to the German from eight yards, but his effort was poor and allowed Yann Bisseck to make a timely block.
Arteta first looked to his teenager Ethan Nwaneri for inspiration before Ødegaard was introduced in injury time. But Inter’s defense remained rock solid as they prepared for this weekend’s top-of-the-table clash with Napoli here with another clean sheet. For Arsenal, who travel across London to face Chelsea on Sunday, it was another bitter pill to swallow.
