Evening Standard
·6 November 2024
Evening Standard
·6 November 2024
Gunners beaten for first time in the Champions League this season
Arsenal slipped to their first defeat in the Champions League this season as they were beaten by Inter Milan.
Hakan Calhanoglu scored the only goal of the game, slotting home a penalty just before the end of the first-half.
Inter won the penalty after midfielder Mikel Merino was adjudged to have handled the ball when defending a free-kick.
Arsenal once again struggled for creativity and for the second game in a row they failed to find the back of the net.
Here is how Simon Collings rated the Arsenal players...
David Raya 6
Didn't have a save to make in the first-half and one of his first tasks was picking the ball out of the net after Calhanoglu’s penalty.
Ben White 6
Back in the starting XI after struggling with a joint issue. Combined well with Saka in patches and was solid defensively.
William Saliba 6
Missed a great chance from corner when the flight of the ball seemed to deceive him. Largely kept Inter’s forward line quiet.
Gabriel 6
Booked early on for tussling with Martinez at a corner. A threat at set-pieces and went close to an equaliser.
Jurrien Timber 7
Had a good battle with his Dutch team-mate Denzel Dumfries. One of Arsenal’s better players on a disappointing night.
Bukayo Saka 6
Doubled up on for a lot of the game and so struggled for space. Whipped a great ball in midway through the second-half, but no one could finish it.
Thomas Partey 6
Back in midfield after covering at right-back recently. Loose in possession early on and almost punished, but settled as the game went on.
Mikel Merino 5
Had a decent shout for a penalty waved away after being caught by Yann Sommer when heading Martinelli’s cross. Then gave away a penalty for handball - can feel hard done by as knew little about it. Hooked at half-time.
Gabriel Martinelli 6
Put a couple of decent crosses in during the first-half by delivering the ball early. Full of running, as always.
Havertz had Arsenal’s best chance of the game
AFP via Getty Images
Denied by a stunning save from Yann Sommer. Should have equalised - but Yann Bisseck somehow blocked his effort.
Made a vital block early on when Inter almost opened Arsenal up. Pretty poor going forward, though, and looks out of form right now.
Substitutions
Gabriel Jesus (Merino 45’) 7
A bright performance off the bench and upped the tempo a bit. Havertz should have scored from his great ball into the box.
Ethan Nwaneri (Trossard 82’) N/A
Oleksandr Zinchenko (Timber 82’) N/A
Martin Odegaard (Havertz 90’) N/A
Subs not used: Neto, Setford, Robinson, Myles-Skelly, Kiwior, Jorginho, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji