Hakan Calhanoglu fired Inter Milan to a 1-0 victory over Arsenal on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten start in the Champions League and handing the Gunners their first defeat in this year’s revamped tournament
The Turkey captain scored the decisive penalty in first-half stoppage time, giving Inter 10 points at the halfway mark of the new single-league phase.
Inter, still unbeaten, sit just two points behind leaders Liverpool and are well-positioned to secure a top-eight finish, which guarantees direct qualification for the last 16.
Arsenal, on the other hand, continued their wobbly form, sitting 12th with seven points. Despite the loss, Mikel Arteta’s side put up a strong fight in an engaging match at the San Siro.
Calhanoglu’s goal, his third of the season, was the first Arsenal have conceded in this year’s Champions League. The penalty came on his first start since recovering from a thigh injury sustained during international duty last month. After the goal, Arsenal had several chances to equalize but were denied by resilient defending and a stunning save from Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer to deny Kai Havertz.
Looking ahead, Inter will face Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday, with a chance to move top of the league. Remarkably, five of Simone Inzaghi’s key players, including Italy internationals Nicolo Barella and Federico Dimarco and French forward Marcus Thuram, started on the bench for Wednesday’s match.
Arsenal, meanwhile, travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea as they aim to end a run of three Premier League matches without a win and get their faltering season back on track. Arteta will be boosted by the return of captain Martin Ødegaard, who made a late substitute appearance after missing the previous 12 matches due to an ankle injury. The Arsenal manager is also awaiting news on Declan Rice, who was absent from the squad in Milan.
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