SETTABLOID

Arsenal suffered another defeat on Wednesday as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan in the Champions League, having also lost 1-0 to Newcastle last weekend.

Mikel Arteta’s side are in a disappointing run of form at the moment and will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they travel to Chelsea this weekend. Arsenal have dropped points in a number of key games and a club legend has warned they cannot afford to lose to the Blues.

Gabriel Jesus has admitted he is frustrated with his lack of minutes at Arsenal, but remains confident he can turn things around.

Despite his side suffering defeat in Milan, Arteta insisted he was happy with Arsenal’s performance as they turn their attention to Sunday’s clash with Chelsea.

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber has claimed the team need more luck in front of goal after losing 1-0 to Inter Milan – the second straight game they have failed to score in.

Hakan Calhanoglou’s first half penalty – Inter’s only shot on target – was enough to give the Italian side all three points at the San Siro and leave Arsenal rueing their failure to turn dominance into goals.

Kai Havertz arguably had Arsenal’s best chance of the game as the ball fell to him inside the six-yard box – only to see his shot deflected wide.

Arsenal were beaten in back-to-back games after their 1-0 loss at Newcastle on the weekend and Mikel Arteta will now have to rally his troops for a huge game against Chelsea on Sunday.

 

The Gunners have had a poor run of results and they have picked up just one point from their previous three league games.

The club recently suffered a 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League where they were probably the better outfit.

Arsenal will travel to Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s derby against Chelsea.

The game appears a must-win for them as they are already seven points behind Liverpool, who are top of the league standings.

Ahead of the derby, Declan Rice is set to continue playing despite suffering a broken toe.

The 25-year-old sustained the setback in the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United and he subsequently missed the visit to San Siro.

However, there is optimism that he will be fit for the west London trip to face the Blues.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is determined to play through the pain barrier despite breaking his toe during the 1-0 defeat against Newcastle last Saturday.

The 25-year-old missed the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan on Wednesday but is eager to be back in action for the trip to Chelsea this weekend. Rice has been included in the England squad for two Nations League fixtures against Greece and Republic of Ireland and there is optimism surrounding his condition.

Rice struggled to put a boot on earlier this week and could not train properly, which forced him to sit out of the Champions League game against Inter. However, players do play with broken toes and Arsenal are hoping that it will not stop their star midfielder from featuring in Sunday’s London derby.

The prognosis for a broken toe is said to be ‘four to six weeks’, but players can generally make a quicker recovery and play through the pain which Rice is determined to do. The England international has missed just one game for the Gunners since joining the club for £105million from West Ham in July 2023.

Arsenal take on Chelsea this weekend knowing that their title hopes could be defined by the result. A defeat might see the Gunners fall ten points off the lead and see other sides have the chance to move above them in the table.

Of course, Riccardo Calafiori is out, expected to return after the international break, but it is another summer signing who will miss the game but not through injury. Raheem Sterling is ineligible to face his former club this weekend and therefore will vacate a place on the Gunners bench.

Declan Rice missed the game with Inter Milan on Wednesday night with what is thought to be a minor foot problem. Arteta told media: “Declan unfortunately picked an injury against Newcastle.

The good news is that Martin Odegaard will be back after making a small cameo against Inter, coming on in stoppage time as a substitute. However, Kai Havertz suffered a nasty bang of heads at the end of the game.

Former Arsenal captain William Gallas has branded the team’s perceived fatigue as “unacceptable,” especially considering their lack of recent success. The Frenchman, who once wore the captain’s armband for the Gunners, voiced his frustration, arguing that fatigue at this early stage of the season reflects poorly on a team that hasn’t secured a major trophy in nearly two decades.

Arsenal have struggled in recent weeks, winning only two of their last six games across all competitions and suffering three losses. Their recent defeat against Inter Milan in the Champions League, combined with domestic setbacks against Newcastle and Bournemouth, has seen them lose momentum in the Premier League title race.

The north London club, which last lifted the Premier League trophy in 2004, faces growing pressure, especially with manager Mikel Arteta tasked with delivering long-awaited silverware.

Gabriel Jesus has revealed he is hugely frustrated by his lack of minutes for Arsenal this season but has made it clear to Mikel Arteta that he will not try and force a transfer away – though the two clubs most likely to try and sign the Brazilian has also come to light.

Jesus moved to Emirates Stadium in a £45m (€52.2m, $58.4m) move from Manchester City in the summer of 2022 – the fifth biggest fee shelled out since Arteta became manager and the seventh largest overall in Arsenal history. However, despite making 14 appearances in all competitions this season, the 27-year-old has found himself regularly warming the bench, having been limited to a meagre 480 minutes of action so far this season.

Enzo Maresca has reason to have been smiling through Arsenal’s defeat to Inter Milan on Wednesday night. The Italian watched as Mikel Arteta made just one change from the loss to Newcastle last weekend.

While the Blues have a game on Thursday evening against Noah in the UEFA Europa Conference League, it is expected Chelsea will rotate heavily and be able to rest key players like Cole Palmer, who is not in the squad, before the weekend clash.

Arsenal were beaten by a sole penalty kick given away by Mikel Merino. Yet, it was threads throughout the game that sent a message to Chelsea and delivered encouragement rather than fear.

While it was a better performance compared to Newcastle, key issues were sustained, and 46 crosses sent into the box failed to lead to one big chance being created. Kai Havertz’s strike blocked by Yann Bisseck came from a fortuitous deflection, the German’s curling effort was a speculative effort and Denzel Dumfries cleared off the line from what appeared to be a Inter Milan head from Bukayo Saka’s corner.

The lack of rotation means that there will be some tired legs going into the weekend. It is a must-win for Arsenal but Chelsea have reason to be emboldened by what they have seen here.

Arsenal have won just two of their last six games following defeat in the Champions League to Inter Milan. A Hakan Calhanoglu penalty condemned Mikel Arteta’s side to a 1-0 loss against Italian opposition with the Gunners having now failed to score in their last two games.

The visitors were without Declan Rice for the European clash after he picked up an injury against Newcastle last weekend. For the first time in over nine weeks however, Martin Odegaard was included in a matchday squad with the Arsenal captain playing the final minutes of the clash at San Siro.

During the game, Arteta was handed a further two injury worries and with just three days until the London derby away at Chelsea, more key absences could occur.

Late into the clash against Inter, Kai Havertz collided heads with Yann Bisseck which resulted in both players requiring treatment. A significant amount of blood could be seen around Havertz’s head with it ultimately decided he would be replaced by the returning Odegaard.

The Gunners dominated possession throughout the Champions League clash but the hosts scored with their only shot on target, a Hakan Calhanoglu spot kick on the stroke of half time. Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Gabriel and Kai Havertz all had decent chances to equalise in Italy but ultimately Arsenal could not find a way through a stubborn Inter defence.

“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,” Mikel Arteta said after the match. “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.”

Despite the negatives, there were a couple of positives. Martin Odegaard made his return from injury after missing the whole of September and October, while Ethan Nwaneri looked bright after being brought on in the 82nd minute.