Champions League nights at San Mames feel different. The noise cuts through you, the stands are steep, and the football rarely gives you time to breathe. Arsenal walked into that heat, absorbed it for an hour, and left with a 2–0 win and three points to start the league phase. Both goals arrived from the bench: Gabriel Martinelli scored 36 seconds after his first step onto the pitch and later set up Leandro Trossard to finish the job.
This was not a stroll. Athletic Club, celebrating a return to Europe’s top competition after 11 years, brought intensity and a gnarly press. Arsenal needed patience, a reliable defensive structure, and then a punch of quality in transition. The story of the night sits in those three ingredients, and it points to a team that can manage different game states without losing its shape.
Below are the three clearest lessons from a cagey, grown-up away performance.
Control came late, not early and the data shows the shift
The opening half belonged to the home side in territory and tempo. Athletic’s ten-minute moving possession share hovered above the midline through much of the first 30 minutes, and field tilt leaned toward Arsenal’s half during several long spells. Arsenal were comfortable without the ball but struggled to string together clean progressions; the passing network through 60′ shows Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martín Zubimendi touching frequently in central zones but often with safe connections into the fullbacks rather than line-breaking passes.
The match swung after the hour. Arsenal finished with 62% possession to Athletic’s 38% across the 90, evidence of how the visitors grew into the game and started to pin Bilbao deeper. Passing accuracy told a similar story: Arsenal completed roughly 83% of their passes against Athletic’s 73%. That gap is predictable over a full match, yet the timing matters — Arsenal’s accuracy rose as the game opened up and the press faded.
Chance quality supports the same arc. Expected goals landed around 1.1 for Arsenal and 0.3 for Athletic. Non-shot expected goals, a possession-based proxy for threat in a sequence, was 1.6–0.6 in Arsenal’s favor. The running xG graph stayed level for long stretches, then climbed sharply between 65′ and 90′ when Arsenal found repeat entries, forced defensive scrambling, and created the two decisive moments.
Press metrics back up the eye test. Athletic’s passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA) started in the mid-teens, dropped as they sprang traps in the first half, then trended higher into the final quarter as legs faded. On the flip side, Arsenal’s defensive actions heat map shows a tight mid-block with a cluster of interventions just inside their own half, then a push of ball wins creeping higher after the subs. The shift was subtle rather than dramatic, but it tilted both territory and risk.
What does that mean going forward? Arsenal can survive a storm without burning energy on chaotic presses, trusting center-backs to win first balls and midfielders to cover lanes. Once the initial surge passes, the team can flip into longer possessions and isolate wide threats. Away in Europe, that pattern will repeat. The important part is the patience: not chasing a game state that isn’t there, then striking when it is.
Key numbers:
Possession: Arsenal 62% to Athletic 38%.
Pass completion: ~83% to ~73%.
xG: 1.1 to 0.3.
Non-shot xG: 1.6 to 0.6.
Shots on target were scarce for both sides, reinforcing the value of control and timing over volume.
The finishers changed the match — and there were strong platform pieces behind them
Mikel Arteta has used the word “finishers” for a reason. On 65′ he brought on Leandro Trossard for Viktor Gyökeres, then at 71′ Gabriel Martinelli replaced Eberechi Eze. Thirty-six seconds later, Trossard flicked on a header in the center circle, Martinelli raced clear, took two clean touches at full speed, and slid the ball under Unai Simon. With four minutes left, the roles switched: Martinelli beat his man to the byline and cut back for Trossard, whose effort deflected in off the post. Two actions, two substitutes, three points.
Impact in numbers:
Martinelli: 1 goal, 1 assist in a short cameo; one long carry for the opener and a decisive take-on for the second.
Trossard: 1 assist, 1 goal, several smart central touches that connected midfield to the box.
The bench headlines are loud, yet the foundation came from others who set the table.
Noni Madueke was the primary outlet for an hour. He logged a team-high tally of carries into the box, the most completed dribbles, 11 touches in the area, and three shots. His repeated drives at Adama Boiro created the only sustained route to goal before the subs, and his movement pulled the Athletic back line wider than they wanted. The final ball was not always clean, but his aggression helped move a stubborn block.
Declan Rice put in a classic controlling shift. His personal dashboard reads: 56 passes at 80%+, two progressive passes, one key pass, 46 passes received, three progressive carries, and five ball recoveries. He drew the wide free kick from which Gabriel headed wide. The heat in his receive map sits as a big red oval in the right half space of midfield, exactly the pocket Arsenal needed to calm transitions and recycle.
Cristhian Mosquera looked like he has been here for years. The young center-back finished with 78 passes at 93.6% and stacked up penalty-box work: seven clearances, three tackles (one success), one interception/blocked pass, and three recoveries in the area. His judgment on when to attack aerial balls versus hold the line protected David Raya, who was only really asked to claim crosses and play through pressure. Raya’s distribution (42 passes at 81%) helped flip the pitch once the press slowed.
Gabriel wore the armband and set the tone in duels. He attacked first contacts well, kept Iñaki Williams facing away from goal, and managed the chaotic moments at 0–0 with the right mix of aggression and patience. A match like this asked the back line to win their battles, clear their lines, reset the block, and wait for the chance to kill the game. They did exactly that.
On selection, Arteta started with Eze on the left and Gyökeres at nine. Eze offered secure touches and combinations with Jurriën Timber in the first half, yet lacked the straight-line pace to threaten in behind once space emerged. Gyökeres gave Arsenal an out ball, attacked the near post, and won duels, though his best chances flashed wide. That context made the later switch logical: Trossard to add craft between lines, Martinelli to threaten depth on tired legs. It wasn’t a verdict on the starters; it was the right tool for the right moment.
One more player worth singling out: Jurriën Timber. The right-back overlapped with purpose, served the ball that Gyökeres nearly glanced inside the far post, and handled his side defensively with minimal fuss. His connection with Madueke down the right created repeat entries and the free kick that led to Gabriel’s header. When Arsenal needed to turn long possessions into box touches, Timber’s timing helped.
The broader arc: depth, game management, and a defense built for a long run
Arsenal didn’t sparkle for 90 minutes, and that is fine. Match analysis often fixates on the first hour, yet knockout and league-phase football turns on who can change the last half-hour. Arteta now has options that vary the profile of the front three without breaking structure. Start with a powerful runner at nine and a technician on the left; finish with fresh pace outside and a clever mover in central zones. Opponents cannot plan for one look anymore.
That point links to the long view. Arsenal have kept four clean sheets in five competitive matches this season and have yet to concede from open play. In Bilbao, the back four plus Zubimendi/Rice protected the red zone, forced Athletic wide, and held them to 0.3 xG. The hosts managed only two efforts on target and never created a true cut-back finish. Structure wins over time. If the attack is a touch behind the defense in rhythm this early in the season, the trade is worth it.
There is another big-picture nugget: the win continues a streak of six consecutive victories against Spanish clubs in the European Cup/Champions League. That stat does not decide trophies, but it reflects a consistent ability to travel to hostile venues, neutralize the first surge, and play the last 30 minutes on Arsenal’s terms.
All of this feeds into a simple strategic message. The manager has said the finishers can be as important as the starters. Nights like this give the idea credibility inside the dressing room. Trossard and Martinelli delivered, but it matters that the group accepted rotation without drama and celebrated the impact. That collective buy-in matters across 50-plus games.
With Manchester City visiting the Emirates next, selection choices get interesting. Martinelli just submitted the perfect bench audition; Madueke has banked back-to-back strong displays; Gyökeres offers a reference point against elite centers; Trossard brings final-third calm. The better news is that Arteta can pick any blend without losing defensive security; the Rice-Zubimendi-Merino triangle guarded transitions and the back line is in rhythm. If Martin Ødegaard’s shoulder keeps him out again, the team already showed it can solve matches through other channels.
The last thread is risk management. European referees called 15 fouls against Arsenal and 18 against Athletic. The cadence of contact outside England can catch Premier League teams out. Arsenal adjusted after the break and cut down cheap free kicks. That discipline helps stack clean sheets away from home.
Conclusion
This 2–0 reads clean on the scoreboard and messy in the middle. Athletic Club’s energy and a raucous crowd set a trap for a visiting side still learning its new attacking patterns. Arsenal didn’t panic. They trusted their block, trusted their goalkeeper, and trusted that the moment to decide the game would appear if they kept the back door shut. When that moment arrived, the finishers handled the rest.
Lesson one: control isn’t binary. Arsenal started second best in territory, finished first in nearly every metric, and timed their push. The numbers tell that tale: possession 62–38, pass completion near 83% to 73%, xG 1.1–0.3, non-shot xG 1.6–0.6. The middle hour was about defending space and waiting for the match to breathe; the last half-hour was about asserting class.
Lesson two: the bench is now a weapon. Martinelli and Trossard flipped the scoreline in 16 minutes, Madueke provided the early outlet, Rice and the center-backs kept the stage steady. Those are sustainable patterns, not one-off bursts.
Lesson three: this team looks equipped for the long haul. Clean sheets travel. A defensive platform that depresses shot quality gives margin for attacking variety. Depth across the front line means different answers to different problems, and the squad has bought into the idea that the final 30 minutes can be owned by players who didn’t hear their names at kickoff.
Matchday one of the Champions League league phase is rarely a statement night. This one still carried meaning. Arsenal managed a tough away assignment with maturity, backed by data that points in the right direction, and with a bench that looks ready to swing tight games. That’s the profile of a side that expects to be around when the competition gets serious in spring.