What left Mikel Arteta fuming after Inter Milan loss as subtle Arsenal hint noticed for Chelsea

A tale of two defeats

There will be a temptation to draw parallels between this game and Newcastle. They were both 1-0 defeats, but make no mistake, these were two completely different matches.

In the north east Arsenal were miles off the pace. At no point did they ever have the better of their opponents. In Milan, aside from the opening 10 minutes, they were dominant.

They outshot their opponent by 20 to seven, had almost two thirds of the possession and over 150 more passes.

They had the chances to win it too. Kai Havertz could perhaps have done better when his goal-bound shot hit Yann Bisseck. Mehdi Taremi nearly converted a dangerous Bukayo Saka shot into his own net. Gabriel Jesus nearly marked his 50th Champions League appearance with a superb run and finish in the final exchange of the game.

“The worst thing of the night for sure is the result because the dominance, the attitude and the performance we showed against one of the best teams in Europe in this stadium I haven’t seen it in all the games that I watched,” Arteta said of the performance in his post-match press conference. “The reality though is the result and we had many situations in front of goal that we could have resolved better enough to score at least two goals."

Ultimately though, they could not find the breakthrough. It’s a far cry from Saturday where they never looked like finding it. The result of course is a blow, but if they play like that against Chelsea, they’ll be unlucky to come away with nothing for the third game on the trot.

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READ MORE:Every word Mikel Arteta said on Inter penalty, Mikel Merino sub and Kai Havertz Arsenal injury

So long 4-4-2

Mikel Arteta’s hand was forced somewhat. With Mikel Merino unable to continue after taking a whack on the head that we’ll come to in a bit, he was obligated to ditch the plan with which he started the game.

Had Declan Rice been available, maybe Arteta would have stuck with the 4-4-2 that he has been using to cope with Martin Odegaard’s absence in recent weeks. With options limited though, he reverted back to the 4-3-3.

The change was massive. The game went from a game which Arsenal were shading in the first half to one they were absolutely dominating.

Down the right hand side, combinations created crossing opportunity after crossing opportunity. On the left it was the same. For the first time in weeks Arsenal had a team penned back inside their own box. It felt something closer to the side that finished last season so strongly.

With Odegaard back and able to end the match, perhaps this will be the last outing we will see for the 4-4-2. It served its purpose initially, but has ultimately blunted Arsenal as an attacking force. The Gunners can now hopefully reap the rewards of switching back to the set up that made them one of the best teams in Europe last season.

Penalty decisions go against Arsenal

While he was willing to be self-critical in his analysis of the game, Mikel Arteta was adamant that outside factors had also played their part.

“Extremely frustrated because there are then two decisions that marked the course of the game,” he said. The two decisions he’s referring to are the penalty calls that decided the game.

Both involved Mikel Merino. The first came in the Inter box as the Spaniard leapt to get on the end of a Gabriel Martinelli cross. Hoping to meet the ball in the air he ultimately was greeted by Yann Sommer’s fist. VAR looked quickly, but no spot kick was given.

Instead, on the stroke of half time it was Arsenal who conceded the penalty. With seconds remaining in the half, Mehdi Taremi flicked the ball on to Merino’s arm. It was extremely close range but the referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot. Arteta could not have been more frustrated by the outcomes.

“I don’t understand,” he said of the second call. “There is no danger at all. You cannot react because the ball is very close. But OK. They decide that is a penalty.

“But if that is a penalty then the one on Mikel Merino where he punches him in the head has to be a penalty 1000%. These are the margins in this game and it’s very difficult to accept.”

Arteta has a point. If it were not for the myriad of second chances afforded to teams by this ridiculous new Champions League format it could have been costly. Thankfully the Gunners are still firm favourites to finish inside the top eight.

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