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Arsenal defeated Inter Milan 3-1 on Tuesday evening with a number of the Gunners squad standing up when it mattered most
Arsenal all-but guaranteed top spot in the Champions League after a victory worthy of any potential tournament victor.
Few English sides have ever won in the San Siro; Arsenal became the first to do so in 2003, Thierry Henry scoring twice, a feat matched this time by Gabriel Jesus.
Mikel Arteta made seven changes from the side which were held to a 0-0 stalemate at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Spaniard certainly would have made the changes with an eye toward Manchester United on Sunday; however, Jesus rose above the rest to stake his claim to replace Viktor Gyokeres who also found the net himself.
Arsenal will face tests of the level of Inter Milan as the tournament progresses, and in some ways, the game provided Arteta an insight into how his changed team cope with the challenge. The answer: extremely well.
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Arsenal started quickly and, within the first 30 seconds, saw chances for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Mikel Merino blocked desperately.
Bukayo Saka, minutes later, had his first sighter at goal, but he too found the pathway to goal blocked by Alessandro Bastoni.
The Gunners would be rewarded for their intense start courtesy of Jesus, whose poacher’s instinct earned him a first goal in the competition this season.
After some nice work from Eberechi Eze, Lewis-Skelly’s ball across the box was then scuffed by Jurrien Timber, who attempted his shot poorly, only for the Brazilian to lunge in and force the ball beyond Yann Sommer.
However, just eight minutes later, the home side levelled after Arsenal failed to clear their lines soon enough, allowing Petar Sucic to arc a powerful curling effort into the top right corner.
This was just the second time in the tournament so far that David Raya had found himself beaten. Sucic then looked certain to score again with Marcus Thuram in support, but Cristhian Mosquera brilliantly anticipated the movements of both players to do enough to put the shot from the Frenchman off in the end.
That proved vital as with the next attack, Arsenal earned the corner that Jesus would score his second of the evening, heading in after Leandro Trossard’s reversed pass from a deep Saka cross.
Lautaro Martinez missed a huge chance after Martin Zubimendi gift-wrapped the ball to Inter in the middle of the park. The Spaniard put his hands together, arms raised in a sign of thankful prayer and apology to his teammates and manager in the aftermath.
Arsenal began the second half much like the first, on top and threatening, with Eze squandering a chance to create a two-goal buffer with a left-footed attempt at Sommer.
Saka should have put the game beyond the home side when slipped in by Jesus incisively, but credit Bastoni’s last-ditch challenge to block the goal-bound shot.
Gyokeres scored what is a huge goal for him at the death, taking advantage of a late counterattack and curling a shot which in hindsight, Sommer will believe he could have done better with.
With just six of the players that started in the defeat last season against the Nerazzurri, to come here, win and rest key starters sends a message to European football about just how serious a force this Arsenal side are.
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