Arsenal lose to Inter but it's not desperate times

Create cul de sacs, batten down the hatches by getting players behind the ball. Goodbye catenaccio? Hello, catenaccio.

- Dhiman Sarkar

"The result is all that matters," said Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi after beating Arsenal 1-0 through Hakan Çalhanoğlu's penalty, a call which was right but felt wrong.

It was from a rare break, after Arsenal's seventh corner-kick, that Inter won a free kick. The shot hit Mikel Merino's foot, then his arm. In the Champions League, an arm or hand positioned in an unnatural way which can make a player bigger may lead to a penalty. And so it was, after a VAR check, though there was nothing Merino could have done to avoid contact. What made the night worse for Merino was that he could have won a penalty earlier for taking a punch from Yann Sommer but VAR had ruled in favour of the Inter goalie.

On successive nights, the top two finishers in the Premier League for the past two seasons have lost. Arsenal hogged possession, won more corner-kicks, had more attempts (21-7) but like Manchester City, they couldn't score against Inter. No team has in the Champions League this term. And yet Inter have shipped 13 goals in 11 Serie A matches.