Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat in their Gameweek 4 clash with Inter Milan at San Siro on Wednesday night, November 6. The Gunners put up a strong fight, especially in the second half, but the Nerazzurri held on for dear life and came away with maximum points.
After enduring his first European defeat of the season, Arsenal has slipped to 12th place in the rankings. Inter, meanwhile, has climbed to fifth place.
Hakan Calahnoglu Penalty Secures Narrow Inter Win
Inter Milan enjoyed a bright start in front of their supporters on Wednesday. Just two minutes in, Denzel Dumfries went for goal with an incredible outside-the-boot effort. David Raya had no answer, but the crossbar came to Arsenal’s rescue and denied the wingback the opener. In the following minute, Hakan Calahnoglu attempted to catch the goalkeeper out with a shot from range, but his effort drifted just wide of the left post.
Just before the half-hour mark, Gabriel Martinelli floated a delightful cross into the area. Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer and Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino both attacked it, but the goalkeeper came out on top, collecting the ball after coming together with the Spaniard. Arsenal appealed for a penalty but the referee refused to indulge.
In the first-half injury time, Merino, seemingly unintentionally, obstructed the ball with his right hand inside the area. The referee pointed to the spot, giving the hosts a gilt-edged opportunity to pull ahead. Calhanoglu stepped up and sent his shot down the middle to beat the goalkeeper, preserving his 100% penalty conversion rate (17 out of 17 at Inter).
The North Londoners dominated the second half. William Saliba failed to make contact from point-blank range in the 49th minute, Bukayo Saka saw his cheeky corner-kick delivery cleared off the goal line, and Kai Havertz missed his fair share of chances from close range. Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus also came close in the closing minutes but failed to convert.
Arsenal Boss Mikel Arteta Slams Penalty Call After Champions League Setback
Arteta was unhappy with the refereeing on Wednesday and did not hold back in the press conference.
He said:
“I don’t understand [the handball decision]. There is no danger at all. You cannot react because the ball is very close. But OK. They decide that is a penalty.
“But if that is a penalty then the one on Mikel Merino where he punches him in the head [28th minute] has to be a penalty 1000 percent. These are the margins in this game and it’s very difficult to accept. We were told at the start of the season that wasn’t a penalty. That was clear. Today it was a different story.”
Despite the unsatisfactory outcome, Arsenal can take heart from their performance at Inter. They had considerably more shots (20 vs 4), created more big chances (3 vs 1), completed more accurate passes (437 vs 243), and had a higher xG (1.80 vs 1.19). Had they been a little more clinical, the result could have been a lot different.
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