Arsenal lost 1-0 to Inter Milan in the Champions League(Image: Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

'What about sporting integrity?' - national media give blunt verdict after Arsenal vs Inter Milan

07 Nov 2024, 08:31 by Mark Wakefield · football.london

Arsenal fell to another disappointing defeat on Wednesday night, this time at the hands of Inter Milan in the Champions League.

The Gunners lost 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Hakan Calhanoglu in first-half stoppage time for the home side at the San Siro.

Inter were awarded the spot-kick following a handball decision against Arsenal star Mikel Merino, which has led to mixed reactions among several pundits and analysts.

Mikel Arteta's side have now lost three of their last six matches in all competitions, including the last two against Inter in the Champions League and Newcastle in the Premier League.

Arsenal will return to top-flight action this weekend as they travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and go into the game in fifth place with the Blues in fourth and ahead on goal difference.

The defeat for Arsenal means they are 12th in the league phase standings of the Champions League with seven points from their first four games.

Here, football.london takes a look at how the national media reacted to the Gunners' defeat in Milan.

Ed Aarons, via The Guardian, wrote: "Mikel Arteta’s problems keep on mounting. In a week that they were rocked by the surprise resignation of the sporting director, Edu, Arsenal surrendered their unbeaten start in the Champions League after Hakan Calhanoglu kept up his record of never having missed a penalty for Inter to score the only goal of a tightly contested game.

"It was an exasperating occasion for Arteta, who was bizarrely booked after half-time and came close to being sent to the stands as his side searched for an equaliser. But despite a much-improved second-half display that saw the visitors rack up 14 corners to Inter’s none, they sank to a second successive 1-0 away defeat."

Gary Jacob, via The Times, added: "It ended with Ethan Nwaneri turning and striking well over the crossbar and a snatched shot being blocked by Inter Milan’s largely untroubled rearguard. The passage of play summed up Arsenal’s lack of spark, guile and invention as they prayed that one of their 13 corners would spare them from a third defeat in six matches. This time it didn’t. Denzel Dumfries cleared off the goalline and William Saliba glanced another of the set pieces wide.

"Martin Odegaard came on for a few minutes in stoppage time but in his 12-match absence the Arsenal midfield has become stodgy and unproductive. Odegaard also determines their rhythm and intensity.

"They probed patiently after the break but Inter were content to soak up pressure and Yann Sommer never had a significant save to make. The goalkeeper clawed away a cross-shot from Kai Havertz, who had a good opportunity with a volley that was blocked. They were the closest of the five attempts on target."

Jason Burt, via The Telegraph: concluded: "Another defeat for Arsenal and the atmosphere is growing heavy. But this one needs to be seen through the prism of a handball law that must be evened up. Of an interpretation of a law that is stupidly inconsistent, Arsenal being punished for what proved to be a decisive penalty that would not have been given in other competitions.

"How can it be that the rules on such a fundamental part of the game – whether or not it is handball – can be different for Uefa than they are in the domestic league? If the same action that led to Inter Milan’s winning goal were to happen in Sunday’s Premier League clash at Chelsea, it would not be punished. The threshold appears to be different. Go figure.

"What about sporting integrity? This is not about using a different ball or the referee wearing a different kit or running out to different music. This is how the game is played."

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