The Gunners lost following a contentious penalty decision in the first half, along with a solid penalty shout of their own that went unheeded.
Just before half-time, a free-kick was whipped in and a flick towards Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino saw the ball hit his outstretched hand.
Despite Merino being a yard away from where the ball was delivered, it was adjudged to be a penalty, which Hakan Calhanoglu duly put away.
This happened not long after Yann Sommer clattered into Merino, his fist appearing to make contact with the Gunners man’s head as he tried to punch a cross away.
Despite the nature of Arsenal’s defeat, the Gunners did have a number of opportunities to get back into the game.
In the 50th minute, one Arsenal player spurned a golden chance which led to Highbury legend Paul Merson deeming it a “horrible miss”.
Paul Merson slates William Saliba’s ‘horrible miss’ for Arsenal at Inter Milan
The player in question is William Saliba, who headed wide of the post from eight yards out following a set-piece in the 50th minute.
“It’s a horrible miss,” Merson said of the £27million man on Soccer Special. “Arsenal are really suffocating them right now. Inter are struggling.”
Sky Sports journalist Zinny Boswell, meanwhile, said: “You’d expect more from Saliba there. He wasn’t set for what was a golden chance.”
Saliba stats in Arsenal loss at Inter
Despite Saliba missing a great opportunity, his overall performance on the night was good.
The France international weighed in with three clearances, one block and one tackle, and he also won four ground duels and two aerial duels.
Saliba also took 82 touches of the ball, completed 66 of his 70 passes for an impressive 94 percent pass accuracy, and five of his six long-ball deliveries found the intended target.
Football.london gave Saliba a 7 out of 10 rating and wrote: “After a difficult start did well to contain Taremi and Lautaro Martinez for the most part. Ultimately a solid European display.”
0 Comments