Arsenal return to winning ways during unconvincing display against Shakhtar

Arsenal bounced back from their defeat against Bournemouth by securing a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

Seventy-two hours after they were dealt a surprise first loss of the season at the Vitality Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side retained their unbeaten record in Europe so far when Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half strike rebounded in off goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.

Leandro Trossard missed a penalty with 14 minutes left, and David Raya also pulled off a fine save in stoppage time, while Arsenal’s evening was soured by a second-half Riccardo Califiori injury. Fellow defender Ben White also failed to emerge after the interval just five days before Liverpool’s visit to north London in the Premier League.

Arsenal were again without Bukayo Saka, with the hamstring injury he sustained during the international break, and the England international is expected to be absent on Sunday. Another man poised to be missing against the Reds will be William Saliba after the Gunners elected not to appeal his red card at Bournemouth.

Here, he took his place in the centre of Arsenal’s defence, with Gabriel Jesus installed on the right wing.

The first big chance of the evening, perhaps predictably, came from an Arsenal corner, with Calafiori blazing over from six yards out when he might have done better. And it was Calafiori who registered the home side’s first effort on target after 24 minutes, following a controlled, if not electric opening, from the Gunners.

However, five minutes later, the breakthrough arrived. Martinelli made space for himself in the area and his right-footed drive took a slight deflection en route to the foot of Riznyk’s post before hitting the goalkeeper on the back and rolling over the line.

Kai Havertz then looked poised to head home Jesus’s knock-down from Martinelli’s cross only to be denied by captain Mykola Matviyenko’s hooked clearance.

A minute before the interval, Jesus should have landed his first strike in nearly nine months. The Brazilian won the ball on the edge of the visitors’ area, with Trossard’s pass then finding Havertz, who turned it round the corner for an unmarked Jesus, but his effort was denied by Riznyk’s outstretched right leg.

White, who only made his injury comeback against Bournemouth after a near-month lay-off, was then withdrawn at half-time. And with Jurrien Timber sidelined, Arsenal had to navigate the second period with Thomas Partey operating as a makeshift right-back.

Martinelli’s side-footed blast was punched away for a corner by Riznyk after eight minutes of the second half gone, but with just the sole-goal lead, there was a mild sense of unease inside the Emirates Stadium.

Shakhtar, fourth in the Ukrainian league, and without a goal in Europe so far, were starting to see more of the ball albeit without troubling Raya in the Arsenal goal.

Then, shortly after the hour mark, Arsenal’s mounting injury crisis took another twist when Calafiori sustained an apparent knee injury following a collision with Eguinaldo. The Italian attempted to play on, but was pulled off just half-a-dozen minutes later.

With 14 minutes to go, Arsenal were awarded the chance to put the game out of sight when VAR intervened after Valeriy Bondar handled substitute Mikel Merino’s cross in the area. But Trossard attempted to go straight down the middle and his unconvincing spot-kick was saved by Riznyk.

Shakhtar pushed for an equaliser and Raya denied Pedrinho with a fine one-handed diving save in the second minute of stoppage time before Marlon Gomes fluffed his lines with an unmarked header from only a few yards out to allow Arsenal to see out the win.