Either the gunpowder was dry, or the shooters were not in the mood, but Arsenal fell short in Milan, suffering a defeat to Inter 1-0! The Gunners were in control throughout the match but failed to convert any of the few decent chances they had, mostly thanks to the Nerazzuri’s outstanding defence, which has yet to concede in the Champions League.The decisive moment occurred in the added time of the first half when Mikel Merino hand-blocked Mehdi Taremi’s attempt in the box, and the ref Istvan Kovacs pointed to the spot, from which Hakan Calhanoglu was impeccable for Inter’s 1-0 triumph.2 – Inter 🇮🇹 and Atalanta 🇮🇹 are the only two teams that haven’t conceded a goal in Champions League in 2024/25. Belpaese.#UCL #InterArsenal #VfBAtalanta pic.twitter.com/BdLcDPZoxc— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) November 6, 2024 Already after two minutes, Inter threatened. The Nerazzurri organized a hasty counterattack, Denzel Dumfries received the ball on the right side of the box and unleashed a thunderous effort, which crashed against David Raya’s goal’s bar, luckily for Arsenal.Huge pay rise and more power – Edu joins Marinakis’ empireThat was the only notable moment until the dying minutes of the first time. In the meantime, Arsenal were mostly in control, having the possession advantage and more attempts. Moreover, the Gunners were behind the only two shots on target, but they did not give them any advantage, and neither did the corners, their most powerful weapon this season.And when everyone expected a goalless first half, Inter took the lead! After Hakan Calhanoglu’s free-kick cross and Mehdi Taremi’s strike, Mikel Merino clumsily handballed – enough for a penalty, which the Turk sent behind Raya’s back for the Nerazzurri’s lead at the break – 1-0!100% – Since he joined Inter (2021/22), Hakan Çalhanoglu has scored each of his 19 penalties taken in all competitions. In the period, among those who have scored 100% of penalties in the Big 5 European leagues (all comps), he has taken the most. Specialist.#UCL #InterArsenal pic.twitter.com/NbV5rYMQ9i— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) November 6, 2024 Inter’s opener did not dishearten the Gunners. On the contrary, their attacks became even fiercer while Mikel Arteta opted to strengthen his offensive line, replacing Merino with Gabriel Jesus. It could have paid off in the 60th minute when Taremi almost netted an own goal after Arsenal’s corner. Still, Dumfries’ goal-line clearance saved the Iranian and Inter’s lead.A quarter of an hour before the ref’s final whistle, Kai Havertz found himself in a colossal opportunity. The German shot close-range only to be blocked by Yann Bisseck, who prevented the Gunners’ leveller.##NAJAVA_MECA_8477382##Arteta tried to change his team’s fortunes with numerous subs, but everything was in vain against Inter’s terrific defence. In the end, Arsenal finished the game with as many as 21 attempts, of which only four were on target – not enough to net against the defence that has yet to concede in the Champions League.With this triumph, the Nerazzurri reached the fifth position, which is actually a joint second, given that three more teams have the same number of points as the Serie A side. The Gunners suffered their first defeat in the new edition of the Champions League and currently hold the 12th spot with seven points. Still, we’re only halfway through the competition, and everything can change already in 20 days when Arsenal travel to Lisbon to face Sporting and Inter host RB Leipzig.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 4TuesdayPSV – Girona 4-0 (2-0)/Flamingo 16, Tillman 33, Bakayoko 83, Krejci 88 og/Slovan B. – Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 (1-2)/Strelec 5 – Spikic 10, Sucic 30, Kulenovic 54,72/Bologna – Monaco 0-1 (0-0)/Keher 86/Celtic – RB Leipzig 3-1 (2-1)/Kuhn 35, 45+1, Hatate 72 – Baumgartner 23/Dortmund – Sturm 1-0 (0-0)/Malen 85/Lille – Juventus 1-1 (1-0)/David 27 – Vlahovic 60 pen/Liverpool – Leverkusen 4-0 (0-0)/Diaz 61,63, 81, Gakpo 63/Real Madrid – Milan 1-3 (1-2)/Vinicius Jr 23 pen – Thiaw 12, Morata 39, Reijnders 73/Sporting – Manchester City 4-1 (1-1)/Gyokeres 38, 49 pen, 80 pen, Araujo 46 – Foden 4/WednesdayClub Brugge – Aston Villa 1-0 (0-0)/Vanaken 52 pen/Shakhtar – Young Boys 2-1 (2-1)/Zubkov 31, Sudakov 41 – Imeri 27/Bayern – Benfica 1-0 (0-0)/Musiala 67/Crvena Zvezda – Barcelona 2-5 (1-2)/Silas 27, Milson 84 – Martinez 13, Lewandowski 43, 53, Raphinha 55, Lopez 76/Feyenoord – Salzburg 1-3 (0-1)/Hadj Moussa 81 – Konate 45+2, 58, Guindo 86/Inter – Arsenal 1-0 (1-0)/Calhanoglu 45+3 pen/PSG – Atl.Madrid 1-2 (1-1)/Zaire-Emery 14 – Molina 18, Correa 90+3/Sparta Praha – Brest 1-2 (0-1)/Olatunji 90+2 – Fernandes 37, Kairinen 80 og/Stuttgart – Atalanta 0-2 (0-0)/Lookman 51, Zaniolo 88/
