Arsenal began their Champions League campaign with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Athletic Club. Relive the best facts and analyse the Opta data from the game with our Athletic Club vs Arsenal stats page.
Arsenal got their 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a gritty 2-0 victory against Athletic Club at San Mamés.
Mikel Arteta’s side struggled for fluency for much of the night, but two second-half substitutes turned the contest in their favour. Gabriel Martinelli needed just 36 seconds to make his mark, racing through to open the scoring, before he set up Leandro Trossard for the second.
It was a performance that felt increasingly familiar from this Arsenal team. They were far from their creative best, at times penned in by Athletic’s pressure, yet they remained superbly organised defensively and their depth from the bench was telling.
They are now the first side in European Cup/UEFA Champions League history to record six consecutive victories against Spanish clubs.
Athletic Club 0-2 Arsenal UCL 16 September 2025
Athletic began the game just as their fervent supporters would have hoped: on the front foot and full of intensity. The Basque side pushed Arsenal back in the opening stages, finding ways into dangerous areas around the penalty box even if their final quality was lacking. In fact, Athletic managed 10 touches inside Arsenal’s area in the opening 20 minutes – as many as the Gunners had allowed in their entire 5-0 dismantling of Leeds last month.
For Arteta, the concern in that first period was not just the pressure his team absorbed but their own sloppiness. Arsenal were error-prone in possession and looked short of their usual sharpness.
What relief they did find came through the tireless running of Viktor Gyökeres, who continually offered himself as an outlet down the left channel. His movement stretched the pitch and gave Arsenal a foothold after their rocky start, carrying what little attacking threat the visitors could muster.
It was Ernesto Valverde’s side who carved out the clearest opportunity of the opening 45 minutes when Alex Berenguer raced in behind, only to drag his shot across David Raya’s goal. For all the intensity, genuine goalmouth action was sparse, and the sides went in level at the break.
Gyökeres threatened again early in the second half, pulling away at the far post to nod a Declan Rice corner wide. He and Noni Madueke carried Arsenal’s attack for long spells, combining for each of the team’s first seven shots.
It was two Arsenal substitutes that broke the game open. On the pitch for just 36 seconds, Martinelli latched onto a through ball from Trossard and slid his finish beneath Unai Simón. It was the fastest goal scored by an Arsenal sub in UEFA Champions League history.
It was a strong statement from Martinelli, who has lost his place in Arsenal’s starting XI since the arrival of Eberechi Eze.
Martinelli Goal vs Athletic Club UCL 2025-26
The Brazilian was not done there. Minutes later he burst clear down the left and cut the ball back for Trossard, whose deflected strike looped beyond Simón to seal the win.
There were just 36 seconds between Gabriel Martinelli coming on for Eberechi Eze and the Brazilian opening the scoring for Arsenal.
Only one substitute last season (Ademola Lookman vs Club Brugge – 35 secs) scored quicker after coming off the bench in the 2024-25 campaign #UCL pic.twitter.com/j6pBBKV1Gg
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 16, 2025
It was yet another example of Arsenal’s effectiveness, particularly in cup competitions. The remain superbly disciplined in defence, and that gives them the platform to build from. They’ve now conceded just 18 goals in 25 Champions League games under Arteta.
Among teams with 20+ games under a manager, only four sides in the competition have a better goals conceded per game average (0.72): Fabio Capello’s Milan (0.38), Louis van Gaal’s Ajax (0.63), Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona (0.68) and Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona (0.71).
They will now turn their attention to Manchester City this weekend.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Athletic Club vs Arsenal stats from their Champions League meeting in Bilbao on Tuesday.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Athletic Club 0-2 Arsenal Post-Match Stats
Arsenal have become the first ever team to win six consecutive European Cup/UEFA Champions League meetings with Spanish opponents.
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring for Arsenal just 36 seconds after coming off the bench, the Gunners’ fastest ever substitute goal in the UEFA Champions League.
All 11 of Athletic Club’s starting lineup were making their UEFA Champions League debut, the first Spanish team to field a starting XI with no previous experience in the competition since Real Madrid in September 1995.
Since his Arsenal debut in January 2023, Leandro Trossard has been involved in more goals as a substitute than any other Premier League player across all competitions (14 – 10 goals, 4 assists).
Arsenal named four Spanish players in their starting XI for the first time in a UEFA Champions League match (Raya, Mosquera, Zubimendi, Merino). 26 of the 29 occasions a non-Spanish side has named 4+ Spaniards in their starting XI in the competition have been by Premier League sides (also Liverpool x15, Chelsea x9 and Manchester City x1).
UEFA Champions League Stats Opta
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