Riccardo Calafiori was forced off with an injury and Leandro Trossard missed a penalty as Arsenal were made to sweat for a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Arsenal, again without the injured Bukayo Saka after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth, went in front when Gabriel Martinelli’s shot hit the post and bounced in off Shakhtar ‘keeper Dmytro Riznyk.
But they again lacked fluency without their talisman, or Martin Odegaard, and their injury worries were compounded when Calafiori jarred his knee in the second half, making him a doubt for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool, for which William Saliba is suspended.
Calafiori went to ground immediately after the incident. After briefly attempting to play on having received treatment, he was replaced at left-back by youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly.
“He had to come off because he felt something,” said Mikel Arteta in his press conference afterwards. “I don’t know the extent of that. So, in that sense, not great news.”
Arsenal had the chance to kill the game when Mykola Matviyenko was penalised for handball in the Shakhtar box following a VAR check, but Trossard’s spot-kick hit the legs of Riznyk.
The saved penalty set up a nervy finale for the hosts, who should have been out of sight but needed an acrobatic one-handed save from David Raya to prevent Shakhtar substitute Pedrinho from scoring a long-range equaliser in stoppage time.
Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus in action against Shakhtar Donetsk
The win takes Arsenal to seven points from their first three Champions League games, putting them among the top-eight league phase places, but Calafiori’s apparent injury, with Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu also sidelined, leaves Arteta with a potential defensive headache for Sunday’s game, live on Sky Sports, against the Premier League leaders.
Arteta: We looked tired… but we’ll be right for Liverpool
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta in his press conference:
“There were two very different halves. In the first one we were very dominant and created four big chances. We should have put the game to bed with the amount of dominance and territory we had.
“We looked tired. We lacked that sharpness with and without the ball to regain the ball in the right moments and areas, and we gave certain balls away that allowed certain transitions. We had chances again and missed a penalty.
“That emotion was difficult to overcome and then we had to dig in.
Sunday 27th October 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
“We played two nights ago with players coming from internationals after flying from Brazil and many countries, so I was expecting a bit of a drop-off.
“And the fact that we put so much in the first half and didn’t get the distance in terms of the scoreline, I think we paid a bit for that.
“Then we made life more difficult for us because we started give the ball away in not the right areas and then it was more open. That didn’t help. But we have now four days. Believe me, come Sunday we’ll be flying.
“We’ll review, have a day off, then two days to prepare the game. Sunday is far away and we are more than comfortable that we’ll be in the right place.”
Riccardo Calafiori, Arsenal
Analysis: Martinelli a bright spark for Arsenal
This was not a game that will live long in the memory of Arsenal supporters. Without their two most important attacking players in Saka and Odegaard, they looked uncharacteristically disjointed.
It was, though, a positive night for Martinelli, who produced an eye-catching performance on his return to the starting line-up having shaken off the injury he picked up on Brazil duty.
Arsenal’s winner went down as an own goal but it was Martinelli who forced it, cutting inside from the left and unleashing a vicious effort which found its way into the net via the post and a deflection.
He gave Shakhtar right-back Yukhym Konoplya a torrid night, his speed and directness causing repeated problems. He won duels, made dribbles and delivered a series of dangerous crosses.
It all points to a player gradually regaining his confidence. Arsenal will hope he is able to produce more of the same when they welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, especially with injury doubts hanging over so many others.
Pusic: I’m proud of my players
Shakhtar Donetsk boss Marino Pusic:
“I said to my players just now in the dressing room that I’m very, very proud of their performance; how they showed up, how they worked to get better and – especially in the second half – on the ball, we were very good.”
