Mikel Merino kicked the ball up into his own hand, which is protruding well out to his side, under pressure from Mehdi Taremi. The official didn't change his decision, which infuriated Bukayo Saka. Because VAR looked for an offside during the build-up preceding the penalty, Çalhanoğlu had to wait. However, Arsenal were not be able to get out. With the goalie diving in the opposite direction, Çalhanoğlu offered Raya the eyes and tosses the penalty toward the left of center.
Mikel Arteta would be more than delighted to welcome back skipper Martin Odegaard for the first time since the September International break, where he suffered a nasty injury. However, he is only on the bench and it remains to be seen if his services would be required during their clash against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal made one alteration to the starting lineup following a dismal 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday afternoon. Due to an injury, Declan Rice has not accompanied the team on their trip in the hopes of playing against Chelsea this weekend. Ben White enters the fray. After a lengthy injury layoff, Martin Ødegaard returns as anticipated to start on the bench.
In contrast, the hosts, Inter, are well-rested. Five players were benched for their 1-0 win over Venezia on Sunday, according to Simone Inzaghi. Former Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolò Barella, Marcus Thuram, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco could only make the bench. Meanwhile, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Davide Frattesi, Mehdi Taremi, Matteo Darmian, and Yann Bisseck have returned to the starting lineup.
“Very important to start to get him back” : Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta spoke to the media prior to the game as he discussed the involvement of Martin Odegaard for their game against Inter Milan. He said, “Let’s see, he’s only done one session, he brings another kind of energy, we need to use him if he wants to play so let’s see how the game develops. His character and personality, it is very important to start to get him back, we have already played this season with Declan Rice in other positions so we will adapt.”
The former Everton midfielder added that, “Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino are both talented and physical. Mikel is a real threat in the box and Thomas can break the game down and progress the ball very well, two very important players for us. We need a big one, it’s a very iconic place against a great team, we have to have a very big match, we are ready for it, winning on big stages like this is always a big boost.”
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