Match report – Arsenal stumble against rock-solid Inter Milan | OneFootball

Arsenal fell 1-0 to Inter Milan in the Champions League this evening, missing out on valuable European points.

Inter Milan started brightly, clearly aiming for an early goal to unsettle Arsenal’s players. Within just two minutes, Denzel Dumfries struck a powerful shot that rattled the bar, giving the Gunners an early scare.

This close call served as a wake-up call for Mikel Arteta’s men, who began to assert themselves in the match. However, Inter’s well-drilled defence kept Arsenal from advancing too close to their goal.

Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard worked tirelessly to stretch Inter’s defence and find an opening, but it was the Italian side that took the lead in first-half stoppage time. Mikel Merino was harshly penalised for a handball, and David Raya couldn’t keep out Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty.

At halftime, Arteta made a bold change, bringing on Gabriel Jesus for Merino, and Arsenal began the second half strongly. The Gunners earned corner after corner, but Inter defended resolutely. Yann Sommer pulled off a stunning save to deny Kai Havertz, as Arsenal kept the pressure on, searching for an equaliser.

Arsenal dominated the second half, and when it seemed certain that Havertz would score from close range, Inter’s Yann Bisseck made a miraculous block to deny his fellow German.

The Gunners outplayed their hosts in nearly every positive metric, controlling the ball and peppering Inter’s goal in the final 20 minutes. Yet, even with the return of Martin Odegaard, they couldn’t find a way through the disciplined Italian defence.