UEFA Champions League
Arsenal claimed a well-ground-out victory over Shakhtar Donetsk by a scoreline of 1-0 in tense conditions in the UEFA Champions League group stages. Despite bossing the game for sustained periods, Mikel Arteta and his men found it hard to penetrate the determined defense of the Ukrainian side; this match was decided on one single goal from hard work put in by both teams.
The First Half: Most of the Possession Belongs to Arsenal.
The match started with Arsenal in controlled tempo, taking the lion’s share of ball possession. Shakhtar settled for a deep-lying defense with the single aim of frustrating the Gunners and counter-attacking whenever possible. Arsenal kept resorting to their ball rotations and overlapping runs, cutting spaces and frustrating Shakhtar, which often put the onus on Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the flanks.
And even with Arsenal controlling play, the chances did not come easy. Thus, the side was most often forced into speculative shots from long range with Shakhtar’s disciplined backline getting up on them to snuff any space. Central striker Gabriel Jesus could hardly shake off diving markers from the Shakhtar center-backs.
The first clear opportunity of the match came around the 22nd minute, when Ødegaard, with a shot wide, had a one-on-one open chance. Trubin had it covered, and Anatoliy Trubin was brilliant all through, tipping a long-range effort over the bar. Arsenal continued to pile the pressure, keeping the attacking chances on the whole not quite enough to coalesce into goals.
Shakhtar, for their part, finally posed a threat, especially from the break, with Mykhailo Mudryk testing Ben White on a couple of occasions down Arsenal’s right flank.
Arsenal’s efforts bore fruit in the 68th, thanks to a clever deft finish from Bukayo Saka. A series of passes through Ødegaard and Declan Rice led to that goal. When he received the ball in midfield, Rice played a pin-point pass that located Saka galloping down the right wing. Saka got to the ball first, cut across on his favorite left foot, and curled a shot toward the far post that beat Trubin for that goal Arsenal had sought for all day long.
With the lead, Arsenal continued to seek a second goal to settle the game. The closest the Gunners came to a second was Gabriel Jesus, who soared highest from a corner to see Trubin make a key save in additional service to Shakhtar’s misery.
With their backs to the wall, Shakhtar pushed forward in the dying moments, committing bodies into the attacking scheme in a desperate search of an equalizer. In the best chance of the game, Danylo Sikan blasted a long-range shot in the 82nd minute, but it dove to Ramsdale’s right into his waiting hands, keeping Arsenal’s lead intact a while longer.
The last few indices of higher living were not occurring in these last minutes, as on came Partey: to further cover the midfield and bag this one for Arsenal. Beginning with a confident late-on thrust, the Gunners held up well: indeed, a crucial three points garnished.
Sporting a form of decisions: Arsenal and the way they played for control against Shakhtar.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the match was the tactical configuration of Mikel Arteta’s side. Arsenal was instead in its usual 4-3-3 shape-deep-lying midfielder being Declan Rice. His ability to break up counter-attacks from Shakhtar and to control the tempo from deep was vital in keeping Arsenal going forward. His positional awareness allowed Ødegaard and Kai Havertz a little more freedom in moving forward, which also made for fluidity and unpredictability in Arsenal’s attacking football.
Conversely, Shakhtar tried to play a more dive-for-cover system with a 4-4-2 that looked to frustrate Arsenal by placing ample bodies behind the ball. This compact block worked against Shakhtar’s defensive shape, the one that operates between the line-would require Arsenal patience throughout the buildup phase. The low block set by Shakhtar and managed by center-backs Yukhym Konoplya and Valeriy Bondar made it hard for Arsenal to play in the center channel and pushed the Gunners to rely on wide players Saka and Martinelli to make the game come alive.
This led to stiff flank battles where both Saka and Martinelli made periodic efforts to pull Shakhtar open wide. Notwithstanding this, full-backs Dodo and Matviyenko on the sides defended really well on Saka and Martinelli to make the runs inside in almost an unfeasible manner. The couch had to think outside the box often, mixing it up a lot through quick interchanges between Ødegaard and the full-backs to find that opening.
Defensive Solidity: Arsenal’s Success.
While Arsenal are often credited for their attacking display, their victory against Shakhtar was also carved out of solidly displaying defensive discipline. It was all due to a centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães that prevailed against one deep Shakhtar side, which looked for the equalizer during the second half.
Credits: Getty Images
Oh, and about you, Gabriel. We have a pair of contradictory testimonies. Saliba’s liberation undressed three triangles, but boots to refresh the blood proof of a spatula-hand. “What was I supposed to do?” ask Gabriel, and the answer was: “Earn a redundant triangle against additive pyramids and go against Shakhtar’s physical strength with yet more physical strength.”
And then, with Shakhtar offering their wages on a 82nd minute optional route from deep to a target that is very, very far away, a man with impeccable licensing for his shiny new house in the hills over Sheffield did something. That was December 16th for Arsenal’s goalkeeper, but almost seven quarters of a game that had been lifeless or non-existent. One gasp was due: an 82nd minute shot from Shakhtar Danylo Sikan that defied the conditions of its creation and barked from outside the outer box to Arsenal’s unguarded labradorko. A minute could make a full match and after 81 monotone minutes Ramblank had blocked only a glancing Kuzyayev header.
But here he was, scrambling from near to further and beating away his line, Arsenal and left. Ram’s Delta. The man with 16 days’ house feigned and dived to dribble. His two hands looked like the safest ones in the world on a night to forget.
Individual Performances: The Star
One Salmon, of 218 Saka Road, London, N17, remanded in Aramnents custody. If you believe his lawyer, Bukayo Saka is the best player on the pitch. He scored and there were times when Arsenal’s forward play supposed so, but the trajectory of Saka’s improvement suggests there will be bigger as a few dozen Arsenal games. But he’s quick, his runs are increasingly direct and he moves his legs and other people’s minds. For a night-time referee, he may as well have played a 90-minute practice match with a UEFA registered netball, but its simple division was than Shakhtar’s right midfield proposition to play in Marc Alfonso and their muezzin Ex-Milk Balls.
Impact Players
So, Gabriel Jesus. He wasn’t on time. He wasn’t at all, unless at your expense he might have been. But when Arsenal needed to improve themselves, White was below you, my son. Arsenal’s two-goal central non-defensive schemer made an entrance. That might have been the last glorious snowfall of Arsenal’s forward play, in which case, Gabriel, you were in there. Dew-soft, workmanlike and sawdust-covered. There was the goal. You liked the goal, didn’t you, Eddie or Gabriel?
Martin Ødegaard thus remained the bustling, front-running dynamo of Arsenal’s attack. The Norwegian offered both his vision and range in passing on each occasion he found open spaces to exploit between the defensive shields of Shakhtar.
It made men get more chances to dictate from within the opposition half deeper; that was during the second half, where Shakhtar started pressing.
That said, both Trossard and Thomas Partey were the two measures that made a big difference in securing a win for Arsenal. Trossard came in to bring about a freshness and a little attacking flair; while Partey just came in to help the team ease into more possession in midfield.
What it means for Arsenal’s Champions League ambitions
Though a difficult match that they have all had to fight through, it symbolizes quite a lot from the progression standpoint. Victory over Shakhtar is another step forward in Arsenal’s aspirations of competing in Europe. This win means three points in the bank bring with it a sense of renewed hope for an inexperienced squad, that they can turn things around after a tough struggle with stiff competition.
The strength of the squad is thus proved all the more valid through significant bench contributions, culminating in great reflection on Arteta’s abilities to rotate the squad and utilize substitutions effectively. What Sally stated in her letter certainly upholds arguments regarding and from the inside that Arsenal are serious contenders, only they have a difficult stretch ahead of them as things get longer.
Martin Ødegaard thus remained the bustling, front-running dynamo of Arsenal’s attack. The Norwegian offered both his vision and range in passing on each occasion he found open spaces to exploit between the defensive shields of Shakhtar.
It made men get more chances to dictate from within the opposition half deeper; that was during the second half, where Shakhtar started pressing.
That said, both Trossard and Thomas Partey were the two measures that made a big difference in securing a win for Arsenal. Trossard came in to bring about a freshness and a little attacking flair; while Partey just came in to help the team ease into more possession in midfield.
What it means for Arsenal’s Champions League ambitions
Though a difficult match that they have all had to fight through, it symbolizes quite a lot from the progression standpoint. Victory over Shakhtar is another step forward in Arsenal’s aspirations of competing in Europe. This win means three points in the bank bring with it a sense of renewed hope for an inexperienced squad, that they can turn things around after a tough struggle with stiff competition.
The strength of the squad is thus proved all the more valid through significant bench contributions, culminating in great reflection on Arteta’s abilities to rotate the squad and utilize substitutions effectively. What Sally stated in her letter certainly upholds arguments regarding and from the inside that Arsenal are serious contenders, only they have a difficult stretch ahead of them as things get longer.