Arsenal beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in their third Champions League game of the season, but it was far from a pleasant watch.
Fans were frustrated after the game as Arsenal’s attacking play left a lot to be desired, with Mikel Arteta’s side second-best for long spells of the second half.
Arsenal were handed further injury scares over Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori, who were both substituted, adding to a list which already contains Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka.
Arteta spoke about these topics after the Champions League victory, as well as highlighting one player for praise.
Mikel Arteta gives injury update on Riccardo Calafiori
Calafiori was withdrawn after an awkward fall in the second half, and Arteta was concerned about the Italian.
“With Riccy it’s something different, he felt something, I don’t know the extent of that so in that sense it’s not great news,” Arteta stated of Calafiori.
With Arsenal facing Liverpool at the weekend, this could be a huge blow if they are missing another defender.
Mikel Arteta explains Ben White substitution
Ben White was withdrawn at half time, and this led to fears that he could have picked up an injury.
However, Arteta explained that his withdrawal was motivated by a 34th-minute yellow card he picked up.
“Ben was my decision to take him out, he had a yellow card, we have played enough with 10-men in certain periods. They had a lot of intensity on that side and a lot of attacking players on this side, we didn’t want to take any chances,” he explained.
Arsenal have had three red cards this season, and are keen to avoid any more, with White withdrawn as a precaution in this sense.
Mikel Arteta praises Gabriel Martinelli
Gabriel Martinelli was Arsenal’s best player against Shakhtar, with the winger forcing the own goal which decided the game, and Arteta claimed that he was a level above his teammates.
“He looked really sharp, he looked really fresh, fresher than anybody else on that pitch. You noticed that against Bournemouth, you could tell that was different,” Arteta stated of Martinelli.
“He had another gear, he added another level of threat, he started the game really well and he had a great performance today.”
Arteta not concerned about Leandro Trossard penalty miss
Leandro Trossard had a poor night, and fans were furious as he missed a penalty, which could have been given to Kai Havertz, who was chasing a goal record.
Arteta revealed that he had no say in who took the penalty, but is not concerned about Trossard’s miss.
“Yes, they made that decision, the penalty taker normally is Bukayo or Martin and after that we have two or three players who can take it, they made the decision and unfortunately Leo missed it, but as you said it’s an opportunity missed,” Arteta claimed.
Arteta says Arsenal will improve vs Liverpool
Despite the win, Arsenal’s overall performance was poor, but Arteta is confident that his team will step up their game against Liverpool in their next match.
“We played two and half days ago, after internationals, after flying from Brazil and many countries, I was expecting that we could drop off a little bit,” Arteta pointed out.
“And the fact we put so much in the first half and didn’t convert and get the distance in terms of the result and the scoreline that far.
“I think we paid a little bit of that and then we made life more difficult for us, because obviously we started to give the ball away and not regain the ball in the right areas, and it was more open so that didn’t help, but we have four days and believe me, on Sunday, we will be flying.”
Arsenal fans will now hope that Arteta is correct in his assessment, with the Liverpool game a crucial one in the title race.
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