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Paul Merson couldn’t believe Arsenal weren’t awarded a penalty as Yann Sommer appeared to hit Mikel Merino in the head and feels his former club were hard done by to give a penalty away to Inter Milan.
Declan Rice is in a race to be fit for Arsenal’s Super Sunday clash with Chelsea, Mikel Arteta has revealed.
Rice did not travel with the Arsenal squad that headed to Italy for Wednesday night’s clash with Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Speaking at his pre-match news conference, Arteta, who confirmed Bukayo Saka will captain Arsenal at San Siro, said: “Declan unfortunately picked up an injury against Newcastle. It is a knock, a problem on his foot, and he wasn’t comfortable to put his boots on so at the moment he is not fit.
“He wasn’t feeling good the last few days. We’ll have to assess him on Thursday and see if he’s ready for Chelsea.”
Arsenal are looking for their third victory of the competition when they play Inter having won two and drawn one in the competition so far. Arteta’s side then visit Chelsea on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Club skipper Martin Odegaard could hand Arsenal a major boost by making his comeback against Inter, although confirmation of Saka’s captaincy suggests any appearance would be from the bench.
Odegaard – who has been out of action since September with an ankle injury – trained alongside his team-mates at Arsenal’s London Colney base on Tuesday morning, and travelled with the squad to Milan.
Arteta said: “It’s great to have him back. He trained with us for the first time today. He’s back a bit earlier than expected, but it’s great to have him here and we will decide if we use him tomorrow.”
Arsenal captain Odegaard has missed his side’s last 12 matches following an injury he sustained on international duty with Norway.
And although it is uncertain how many minutes he might be afforded against the Italian champions, his imminent return comes at the perfect time for the Gunners who have slipped seven points behind Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title.
Arteta said the inspirational Saka has earned the right to wear the armband on Wednesday night.
“People admire him people respect him, they want to be next to him,” Arteta said.
“He has a particular way of smiling. He’s one of our leaders right now. He’s one of our biggest players and one of our biggest talents. He’s earned that status in the team right now.”
Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi says retaining possession will be key if his side are to beat an Arsenal team who have been formidable in this competition so far this season.
“We are facing one of the best teams in Europe, very recognisable with a great coach,” Inzaghi said.
“If you see Arsenal among 100 teams, without knowing the name, you recognise them. They played for the last two English titles point for point with Manchester City.
“We will have to try to keep the ball as much as possible, we know that we are facing a team that put on a lot of offensive pressure. We know that it will be a problem for us when they have the ball but the opposite is also true.”
When it comes to creativity on a football pitch, there are two key terms: half space and regista.
The half space is the area in between the middle of pitch and the wide areas, where some of the most creative players sit and plot attacks. A regista is a deep-lying playmaker who is predominantly a defensive player, but contributes a lot to the attack.
Chances are, a regista and a creative player in the half space is a midfielder. Man City’s regista is Rodri, while Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden will operate in the half spaces, as an example. Those roles could also be taken up by an inverted full-back, with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold being another good recent case study on that.
But Inter Milan’s regista and key half space player is, somewhat bizarrely, their centre-back – his name is Alessandro Bastoni.
The Italian defender is one of the most important cogs in Simone Inzaghi’s Inter side, who have one of the best attacking set-ups on the continent, while they also conceded the fewest goals in Europe’s top five leagues last season.
When Inter build up from the back, Bastoni is a key metronome in getting the Nerazzurri far up the pitch. His ranks highly in Europe for progressive carries up the pitch, while his near-perfect passing numbers show his reliability in taking the ball in awkward areas and finding gaps.
The defender ranks second in Serie A for progressive carries up the pitch, while he is in the top 10 players in the league for overall passes and those completed in the opposition half.
But when Inter get into the final third, Bastoni’s work does not stop there. The 25-year-old’s left foot is capable of providing the key pass to unlock defences, most of the time coming from deep crosses into the penalty box.
While Bastoni is an assist threat himself, it is the unlocking of other players which makes him so important to this Inter team.
His half-space position means he often takes up the traditional left-back and centre-back roles at the same time, which is useful for one player in particular: Federico Dimarco.
The Inter wing-back – and wing-back is generous, as he is basically playing in attack – is one of the most creative players in Europe this season because of the role Bastoni plays in support. Dimarco is free to rampage down the left because he has a reliable defensive option covering him behind.
Dimarco’s freedom was shown best on Sunday night when his fierce delivery found Lautaro Martinez for Inter’s winner against Venezia. The wing-back gets on the ball more often because Bastoni is tasked with getting it to him as quickly as possible.
It has raised the question as to whether Bastoni and Dimarco are one of the best wide partnerships in Europe. “In terms of intensity, probably yes,” said the former in response to that debate earlier this year.
“I already know the movement he’ll make and how to give him the ball, we are in sync.”
But if Dimarco is all out attack and Bastoni is also creative in the final third, does that leave Inter too lopsided at times and open to counter attacks? No, there are ways around it.
The secret to Inzaghi’s success at Inter – one Serie A title, two Coppa Italias, two Italian Super Cups and a Champions League final appearance is nothing to be sniffed at – relies on a solid and interchangeable unit. With defenders bombing forward at will, the attackers are expected to do the dirty work in the other direction.
So when Dimarco and Bastoni are causing havoc down the left, it is not uncommon to see Henrikh Mhkitaryan or even Lautaro Martinez covering in defensive roles.
“If I attack, Lautaro or Mkhitaryan go in defence,” said Bastoni this year. “Everyone defends, and everyone attacks; there is a code everyone must respect. The coach wants mobility and you can see it on the pitch.”
And of course, Bastoni has to be a good defender as well as an extra body in the final third.
“I always focus on the defensive phase and I think I’ve grown this year,” said Bastoni. “I saw how [Antonio] Rudiger man-marked [Erling] Haaland in the Champions League [quarter-final this year] and I want to imitate him.”
So when Bastoni went to the Etihad Stadium for their Champions League opener at Manchester City in September, the Italian put in a superb defensive outing against Haaland and co, keeping a clean sheet in the process.
Bastoni is the latest in a long line of impressive Italian defenders going back decades. The challenge for the Italy national team is to fit him alongside Riccardo Calafiori, whose Euro 2024 heroics gave him not only cult hero status in his country, but also a move to Arsenal.
Calafiori is three years Bastoni’s junior but is cut from a similar cloth in terms of starting deep, but then affecting attacking areas. “He’s similar to the player I was three years ago,” said the Inter defender of his Arsenal counterpart.
The Bastoni-Calafiori debate could go on for years to come but for now, Inter host Arsenal in the Champions League and with the Gunners’ defenders threatening from set pieces and Inter’s fluent from open play, it promises to be an intense clash of styles.
Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw by a spirited Inter side as the Premier League champions endured a frustrating start to their Champions League campaign.
City dominated the ball but Inter created clear chances on the counter-attack. They had 10 shots in the opening period – the joint-most conceded under Pep Guardiola in a home Champions League tie and more than in any Premier League game.
Guardiola’s side were restricted to half-chances – Phil Foden’s shot on his return being their best opening before Ilkay Gundogan twice squandered good headed openings – and they could hardly claim to have been at their fluent best. Inter boss Simone Inzaghi, meanwhile, will be annoyed by his side’s wastefulness on the break.
The evening was made even more awkward when Kevin De Bruyne was substituted at the interval having received treatment late in the first half. His fitness will be a concern to supporters ahead of the Premier League showdown with Arsenal on Super Sunday.
Asked to confirm the scale of the injury to De Bruyne, Guardiola was unsure of the situation regarding his star playmaker. “I don’t know, I did not speak with the doctors yet,” he revealed in the press conference. “I will have more info tomorrow.”
The incident that appeared to cause De Bruyne trouble happened late in the first half when he came close to capitalising on a Yann Sommer error but found himself crowded out by the goalkeeper on the left angle of the six-yard box and soon pulled up.
Guardiola’s decision not to send him out for the second half may have been precautionary but with the game against the Gunners coming up at the weekend it is far from ideal for the Premier League champions. De Bruyne has been in fine form.
At least Foden’s return is a welcome one for Guardiola. He may have missed a good opportunity on his right foot but his introduction alongside Gundogan added some impetus to City’s play in the second half. Expect him to be a factor at the weekend.
Man City head coach Pep Guardiola speaking in the press conference:
“We faced a really difficult team, champions of Italy for the last two years, build-up with [Yann] Sommer and [Alessandro] Bastoni, the transition, without pressure on the ball they kill you.
“But I am really satisfied with how we played. We played much better than in the [2023 Champions League] final two years ago against them.”
Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi speaking in the press conference:
“I said, ‘Well done, guys,’ they put in a giant performance. I asked them to play exactly as they did.
“We all know Manchester City and what they are capable of, what they have achieved, especially at home. We knew we had to play a great game and we did this.
“And we created some really good chances as well. We probably should have exploited them better but we worked well as a team and when we work well as a team we make it tough for any opponent.
“It’s true that you go into the next game with a lot of confidence after a performance like this. But I would have preferred to have won.”
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter at the Etihad Stadium:
It’s extremely rare to see Manchester City contained so expertly, for an entire 90 minutes, at home.
The juxtaposition of Simone Inzaghi on the touchline – throwing his arms up in an increasingly animated manner – with his calm and composed players on the pitch told much of the story.
Inter were organised in a shape and system that stifled City, until the closing moments, where a pair of Gundogan headers probably should have made the visitors pay.
Twenty-two shots, five on target, three ‘big chances’ and an xG of 2.45, but no goals. “They are masters of defending, so deep, they help each other so well,” Guardiola reflected. “I like everything on my team today.” Everything bar the scoreline.