Some of the Arsenal contingent traveling out here had to detour to Bergamo due to the fog that had been engulfing Milan all week. This left the team with the unsettling experience of only realizing they had reached the runway at Malpensa airport when their wheels were down.
It perfectly captured the club’s current state of not being able to find a solution, an innovative approach, or significant wins, and now being challenged to do it without the sporting director who helped create the new Arsenal.
The club’s message in Italy over the past four days has been clear: continuity and no crisis due to Edu’s departure. However, there were simpler ways to test that belief than a bouncing, feverish reception at one of the European football crucibles. It was a cruel exam all around, and there were too many of them.
The banner that was spread across the well-known Curva Nord said, “United, proud, never tamed.” Although those that accompanied Mikel Arteta’s men would agree, the cries of “Arsenal” had trouble resonating.
Nobody can deny that Arteta is alive and breathing at all times. He became one of the few managers to give up a free-kick just before the hour mark after making a halftime substitution for a team that was trailing and frantically listing. He grabbed at a ball that Inter’s Matteo Darmian was attempting to control from the touchline. The ball was still in play, but he expected his team to toss it in. He was charged with interfering.
Arsenal suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday
Inter’s hard-fought victory marks the Gunners’ second successive defeat in all competitions
Out of 36 teams, Mikel Arteta’s club dropped to 13th place in the Champions League standings.
However, he was helpless as he watched his team try to salvage a weak first half, only to be thwarted by Simone Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri’s unbreakable blue and black line.
Arsenal’s midfield is likewise shrouded in doubt, since they are now unable to provide anything beyond practicality and resolute defense during games. This is why, following the 12-game absence of the squad’s most inventive player, the line “substitutes” in Wednesday night’s team sheet that read “8 Martin Odegaard” looked like a ray of hope.
A unit that did not scream inventiveness in a plodding first half resulted from Declan Rice’s absence due to a foot injury, which even denied Mikel Arteta the pinged diagonals that have become such an outlet for him. After a quick pregame prayer for the victims of the Valencia floods, the Italian champions were at Arsenal, giving them a hard time.
The Dutch wing-back continued to harass Jurrien Timber, attacking wide and trying to cross early, after Denzel Dumfries’ right-footed attempt thumped against the bar two minutes into the game.
To stay ahead of the continuous Milanese shouting, Arteta’s team needed to make a few key interventions. Leandro Trossard assisted in denying Mehdi Taremi in the area by tracking back from midfield. Lautaro Martinez tried to circle around him to create a breakaway, but William Saliba stopped him.
Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, the two enormous foundations of Arsenal’s defense, kept the squad together in the face of all of this. Without them, the team would have been considerably worse off this season.
As usual, Inter’s midfielders and defenders switched places, resulting in gigantic full back Yann Bisseck posing a serious threat in Arsenal’s box and central midfielders like Hakan Calhanoglu dropping deep to begin the build-up.
In addition to being adaptable, the Italian team was incredibly strong and well-organized defensively. The defense was always equal to the balls lofted from the left by Arsenal’s key supply line, Gabriel Martinelli.
It was handball horror for Mikel Merino (left) who conceded a penalty on the stroke of half-time
Hakan Calhanoglu coolly converted from the penalty spot to fire Inter ahead at the break
The visitors’ best chance to score was when Gabriel’s header was cleared off the goal line.
Arsenal appeared to have survived the half unscathed until the penalty kick gave them the lead. No objections could be made. When Taremi shifted his foot around the ball Calhanoglu lofted in from the left, Merino’s hand was up and not in its usual position. David Raya immediately leaped to his left, and Calhanoglu took the ball and rolled it through the center of the goal.
With Kai Havertz and Trossard at the top, the starting lineup of 4-4-2 was a rerun of the formation that was so dominant at Newcastle last Saturday and didn’t appear any more dangerous. Arsenal’s only effort from that first half was a shot on which Bukayo Saka failed to make a full connection.
It had been difficult to predict where Arsenal would find their openings. Having had enough, Arteta substituted Gabriel Jesus for Mikel Merino at halftime, putting Havertz, who was ostensibly the primary goal threat, back into midfield.
Arsenal improved their performance. Gabriel came to a sharp bend. Dumfries cleared off the line as Saka arced from the right. Yann Sommer palmed away Havertz’s stunning strike as it spiraled toward the top corner of the net. Havertz was blocked by Yann Bisseck. Saka’s set pieces posed a continual danger.
Ten minutes before the end, Ethan Nwaneri, a true creative gem, replaced Trossard, to the muted cries of the Arsenal supporters. Oleksandr Zinchenko also showed up to provide a broad offensive threat. However, the Milanese shouts caught on, and there was no way to make things easier for Arsenal before their trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, which suddenly seems even more difficult.
Arsenal had Thierry Henry up front and Robert Pires and Edu in midfield as they won 5-1 here in November 2003, the previous time they played here. Back then, the path ahead appeared clear. There is no fog to obstruct the path.