Arsenal suffered their second straight defeat as Inter Milan beat them 1-0 in the Champions League at the San Siro thanks to a first-half penalty from Hakan Calhanoglu.
Mikel Arteta’s side arrived in Italy without Declan Rice through injury for a week as they travel to Chelsea following a damaging Premier League defeat at Newcastle, and his absence was felt as the Gunners lost for the first time in Europe. this season.
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino was fouled on the stroke of half-time when his handball was denied, although he could do little to keep Mehdi Taremi’s shot out of the way. It probably wouldn’t be awarded in the Premier League.
Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu is surrounded by his teammates after scoring his side’s winning goal against Arsenal.
Merino felt he should have awarded a first-half penalty when Inter goalkeeper Jan Sommer headed in Gabriel Martinelli’s cross, but VAR was not enough to overturn the on-field decision.
Arsenal should have had a penalty for this incident.
Arsenal made 46 passes to no avail, failing to score for the second game in a row as William Saliba missed a good headed chance and Kai Havertz was expertly denied by Inter defender Jan Bisek, who edged ahead of the impressive Alessandro Bastoni.
Even the performances of captain Martin Odegaard, who has been sidelined for the last 12 games through injury, could not inspire a late comeback as Arsenal dropped to 12th in the Champions League table after four games.
Meanwhile, Inter climb into fifth place, the automatic qualification places, with 10 points from their opening four games, maintaining their unbeaten start to the competition despite playing Arsenal and Premier League champions Manchester City.
Arteta: Arsenal did it rudely
Arteta was sharp in his post-match interview TNT Sports as he complained of two rulings against his side.
“I’m really proud of my players and our game. The level of dominance we had when we played. I feel we were treated harshly. In the sense that (both penalties) were obvious,” he said.
“Well, especially if you’re going to give a penalty in the other box, obviously one has to be like it’s hitting him in the head.
“It’s not a shot, it’s just a deflection (for Inter’s penalty). There’s no danger in the box, there’s nothing you can do, the ball is too close to your body, so I don’t know how you can get away from it. Especially if you give that one, then the other, 100 percent should be fine.
“With the number of chances and chances we created, we should have at least scored a couple of goals and that’s on us. How the team played, who we were tonight, the level of quality and how we got into the box and how we played. ruling a team that is one of the best in Europe. To be honest, I’m very proud of them.”
Odegaard’s creative spark is missing at Arsenal
Arsenal’s struggle against Inter was reminiscent of last weekend’s loss to Newcastle. They dominated the second half but couldn’t find a way through the hosts’ defensive opposition. There was a lack of creativity.
This was expressed in the 46 intersections registered by the team throughout the game. Arsenal, a side that had consciously decided against signing a striker for the past two years, pursued an approach that required a big No.9.
It was a shocking performance for Odegaard, who has of course been out of Arsenal since the end of August after picking up a ligament injury against Norway. Arsenal understandably decided not to risk him until the final moments, but Ethan Nwaneri waited needlessly.
The 17-year-old has proven he has the skill and guile to open up defenses when given the chance this season, and with Odegaard and Rice absent, this was the perfect time to give Nwaneri a chance to show it. the biggest stage.
Arteta gave the teenager just eight minutes of regular time to make his mark as Arsenal’s struggle to figure out the form that made them Premier League title contenders shows no sign of letting up. Injuries to key players are their undoing.
Arsenal’s hope is that once Odegaard and Rice are both fit and firing, they can return to their best form. Arteta may need them to do so sooner rather than later, with another crucial game at Chelsea next up. It’s early in the season, but he can’t really afford to lose any more points.
