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Morning all.
Great teams win games when they’re not playing well. They have the ability to snatch a draw from a losing position late in a game, snatch a win when a draw looks more likely and pluck a victory out of fresh air.
Athletic started strong with Mikel Arteta’s team struggling to get into the game. The passing was a bit off and I thought we looked a little disjointed. Eze looked a lost soul out on the left and Madueke certainly wasn’t enjoying as much freedom as he had against Forest. At the back though, the players stayed strong to thwart any kind of danger which came their way.
As much as Athletic played well, it was Arsenal who created a few opportunities to open the scoring. Eze had the ball nicked away from him as he was about to shoot, excellent defending I thought and Gyokeres sent a shot at the Athletic keeper before heading a Timber cross just wide. From a free-kick, both Gabriel and Gyokeres went for the ball, clashing heads in the process. A bit of first aid applied and he was on his feet again. Athletic had a couple of chances as half-time approached but neither troubled Raya.
The second half was similar to the first in many ways with much of our play going down our right, Madueke causing Athletic problems but we couldn’t find a way past Simon. Merino headed a chance over the bar before Arteta made changes. Trossard was the first to come on from the bench in place of Gyokeres but it was the change Arteta made six minutes later which broke the hearts of the Athletic fans. Trossard received the ball in the middle of the pitch facing his own goal and with a player tight on him but instead of going for a safe ball, he just flicked the ball over himself and ahead of Martinelli on our left. The Brazilian was on it like a flash, raced towards goal and slipped the ball under Simon’s body. Brilliant and just what our winger needed. Minutes later it was roles reversed as Martinelli, from the left side, played the ball back to Trossard in the box and after a giving himself time, fired home to make it 2-0.
The last time I recall an Arsenal substitute making such an impact was when Reiss Nelson scored against Bournemouth but to make two changes, both scoring and assisting, well if it’s happened for Arsenal, I cannot remember it.
All in all, a great start to our Champions League campaign.
Catch up in the comments.