Internazionale – Arsenal: The Gunners Give Another Display of Strength (1-3)
Few would contest the statement that Arsenal are a top team. However, it is high time that the players cross the fabled finishing line to leave a lasting legacy. The end of the season is still a long way away, but they have put in another performance to prove that outcome is possible.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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Arsenal are aspiring to make the final ascension under Mikel Arteta to crown his six-year project in North London. The Gunners have gone seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, have one foot in the final of the Carabao Cup, and are six for six from their Champions League fixture list with victories over Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich on their record. If this is to be the year that the continental drought ends for the team, a scalp at San Siro would be another boost to their belief.
Inter are seasoned veterans in continental competition, falling at the final hurdle of the Champions League in 2023 and 2025. So, despite the exit of Simone Inzaghi in the summer, hopes have remained that a streetwise side should remain a respectable unit in Europe. Indeed, the Nerazzurri navigated their first four fixtures with a flawless record before losses against Atlético Madrid and Liverpool. The big occasions have been a constant stumbling block in Serie A too: would this affair be any different?
Cristian Chivu changed four members of the lineup he used against Udinese in a 1-0 victory on the weekend. Alessandro Bastoni brought his progressive value from the left of the trio in central defense as a replacement for Carlos Augusto. Francesco Acerbi sat in the middle of the backline, and Manuel Akanji sat on his right. Petar Sučić stepped in for Henrikh Mkhitaryan as a central midfielder, and Marcus Thuram took the place of Pio Esposito as the central forward next to Lautaro Martínez.
Arteta altered seven names from the starting eleven he picked in a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest. Christian Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly stood in for Gabriel Magalhães and Ben White in the defense, so Jurriën Timber switched sides to act as the right back in the rearguard. Mikel Merino and Eberechi Eze replaced Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard in the midfield with Martín Zubimendi. Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka started out wide while Gabriel Jesus was the central forward.
Arsenal attack out of the gates
Arsenal were not able to break the deadlock when the two teams met at the San Siro in November 2024, but they began this showdown with the intention of punishing the hosts with their sharpness.
4th minute: offensive sequence from Arsenal. Lewis-Skelly intercepted the ball, then dribbled inwards, holding off Luis Henrique. Zubimendi pulled out to the left of the midfield before bouncing the ball back to Mosquera. Thuram is forced to press the defender, whom Merino instructs to remain patient, and then the Spaniard sends the ball around the corner to Trossard. The winger holds up the ball against Barella and then successfully switches the focus of the attack towards the right via Timber.
Within the first two minutes of the match, their press had forced Yann Sommer to shank a couple of clearances while Lewis-Skelly and Merino managed to test the black and white shirts with shots.
The 5-3-2 formation from Inter offered space down the sides to attack, and Arsenal had the quality to engineer pathways to their favored flank (the right) where Saka and Timber worked in tandem. The winger, who has not been in his finest form in the final third, set the tone decisively for his duel with Federico Dimarco in a positive manner, and the efforts of the guests were rewarded in next to no time.
Eze picked up the ball in a central position on the edge of the penalty area, and the Gunners went through the gears. With a shift of bodyweight, he traveled inside Barella before firing the ball into the feet of Jesus. The striker pulled off a layoff for Merino, who found Lewis-Skelly, and a switch of sides saw Timber completely free from the right side of the box. The fullback flashed an effort at the target that deflected into the air, and Jesus adjusted to shoot with a swiveled volley beyond Sommer.
A momentary lapses undercuts Inter’s momentum
Eventually, Inter started to get a grip on the proceedings, producing the path towards the equalizer. Piotr Zieliński dropped into the backline, connected with Bastoni, and the path was freed for Lautaro, who shifted the ball onto Thuram. His initial effort was blocked, but Sučić slotted away the rebound.
What a first #UCL goal for Sucic 💥🖤💙 pic.twitter.com/0OkIJImBfS
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) January 22, 2026
The links into the frontline were becoming more profitable. As the lines were stretched to the right of Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 pressing formation, Saka and Timber stepped forwards to press onto blue and black shirts, but the spaces opened inside for Lautaro to drop off and force William Saliba out of the line.
The captain nearly contributed a game shifting moment with his capacity to connect in the 27th minute. After Inter won the ball, he delayed a layoff towards Sučić, taking the long route around with a hooked right footed pass into the channel for the midfielder to chase. He got free from Zubimendi, but choosing not to assist Barella, his pass to Thuram was met with a wayward, off-balance strike.
A familiar threat reared its head again on the half hour mark to relieve the Gunners. Saka saw the opportunity to drive at Dimarco, going around the wing-back to earn a corner kick. He stepped up to sling a cross into the danger zone, aiming for the far post, where Trossard had peeled away freely. The forward flicked the ball back across the face of the goal, and Jesus was present to bundle it home.
Chivu’s men kept pushing for those moments when they could turn Arsenal around, and Thuram took some initiative as the half came to a conclusion. However, the Nerazzurri were still staring at a defeat.
35th minute: offensive transition from Inter Milan. Trossard successfully fought for the second ball after an aerial battle between Jesus and Acerbi. Merino then should have reset to Saka, but he miscalculated his headed pass and Lautaro leapt to retrieve the possession. The ball broke for Barella, and Thuram got on the half turn to provide a first time layoff for Lautaro before bursting into the channel between Mosquera and Lewis-Skelly (a space repeatedly targeted by the Nerazzurri).
Esposito enters, Gyökeres grabs his goal
Physical intensity is not the greatest strength of this Inter outfit, and legs were getting wearier after the break. The game was becoming looser and stretched, suiting the power that Arsenal can produce. Indeed, as Acerbi failed to conclusively clear a long ball from David Raya, Jesus and Saka connected to set away the right winger before Bastoni made a desperate last ditch block to prevent a third goal.
With half an hour to go on the clock, Chivu changed the structure of his side as the search for an equalizer continued. Davide Frattesi filled in for Barella, and Esposito entered the fray in place of Lautaro. The presence of the substitute with two teammates underneath him allowed the hosts to build up some more momentum, and Arteta eventually reacted with the introduction of Gabriel Magalhães.
— mpoiAc (@AcMpoi23986) January 21, 2026
But the triumph was sealed emphatically when Martinelli came on for Trossard and Viktor Gyökeres got minutes as the number nine in place of Jesus. The Brazilian picked up the rebound from a corner kick delivery and whipped the ball with the outside of his right boot behind the backline. Gyökeres was on the move, trying to thread a pass to Saka, but the ball clipped his heel. However, it fell for the striker, who curled a strike into the back of the net. With a little luck, the three points were secure.
Takeaways
Inter Milan are suddenly in a spot of bother. Their troublesome record against top teams persists, and the feeling remains that the side still struggle to set alight the same fuse they could spark last season. They have now lost three consecutive Champions League games for the first time since 2011, and Chivu’s men must try to take three points against Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park to ensure they finish in the top eight of the league phase when they travel to Germany next week.
Arsenal are making the most of their opportunities in European encounters. The game-breaking tool of set-pieces is translating well into continental competition, and there were plenty of other positives from the performance to reinforce belief in the camp that they could replicate the journey to the final four of the Champions League from last campaign. With a flawless record remaining intact, Arteta’s men can also afford to rest and rotate substantively as they host Kairat Almaty in their next clash.
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