Mikel Arteta once again entrusted Gabriel Martinelli to make the difference for Arsenal on the left against Inter Milan at San Siro.
In a way, Martinelli’s own display embodied Arsenal’s performance overall, he was trying to rediscover his spark but ultimately couldn’t make the right decisions in the final third.
The Brazilian was endlessly crossing the ball into the box, something his Arsenal teammates often resorted to as well.
However, Kai Havertz was rarely free in the middle – Arsenal didn’t get any joy from their 46 crosses into the box, with the only real chance landing to William Saliba from a corner.
That being said, there was a clear improvement by Arteta’s side in the second half, who were at least moving the ball sharper and mounting pressure around the Inter box.
Gabriel Martinelli can’t believe what Leandro Trossard did in Inter Milan defeat
However, it was a more frustrating tale in the first 45 minutes of the 1-0 defeat, and that frustration was perhaps best shown by Martinelli’s reaction to Leandro Trossard’s wayward shot.
Seen during TNT Sports’ coverage of the game, Trossard chose to shoot wildly in the 30th minute when Arsenal had just recovered the ball in the final third.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta makes bold Chelsea vow to Arsenal fans as he shares ‘harsh’ Inter Milan verdict
Martinelli turned away and appeared to scream in frustration, swinging his arms in annoyance after Trossard snubbed his request for the ball.
Like Martinelli, Trossard delivered another poor Arsenal performance, one that perhaps begged the question as to why Raheem Sterling failed to play a single minute again.
The on-loan Chelsea man is ineligible to play at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and yet he didn’t get a run out during either defeat to Newcastle or Inter, when Arsenal were struggling up top.
Perhaps that proves that Arsenal won’t sign Sterling permanently – but that’s an issue for another day.
Mikel Merino arguably the worst player on the night for Arsenal
A tough night for the Gunners, and one that is particularly concerning from Mikel Merino’s point of view.
Martin Keown though Inter Milan’s penalty was incredibly harsh – Merino had no time to react and pull his hand out of the way.
But it was actually Merino’s all round display, and in particular his first touch, that really troubled Arsenal in the first half.
Arteta was right to hook his compatriot at half-time, even if it may have also had something to do with Yann Sommer’s ill-timed challenge on the midfielder when competing for a header.
It’s all eyes on Chelsea now, and a defeat in west London would really start the post-mortem over the upcoming international break.
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