As it happened: Arsenal edge past Shakhtar in Champions League

If there is a sense of apprehension around Arsenal at the moment, it went up a level late in the second half of this nervy 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. The sight of Riccardo Calafiori hobbling off after an awkward slip and becoming the latest addition to their lengthy injury list gives Mikel Arteta another headache ahead of facing Liverpool on Sunday. “He felt something,” Arteta said afterwards. “Not great news.”

His side had to dig in here to claim another three points in the Champions League against a resolute Shakhtar team. There was a dip in energy after Calafiori’s injury, another after Leandro Trossard’s penalty was saved in the 75th minute. Not for the first time in this Champions League, Arsenal were indebted to David Raya, whose strong arm denied a dipping shot from Pedrinho in the 92nd minute. It denied what would have been a famous point for the Ukrainian side.

Here’s the Arsenal manager giving his reaction to Amazon Prime Video:

Aston Villa could be forgiven for printing out the table, framing it and nailing it to the wall. The club who conquered the continent in 1982 have rarely hinted at scaling such heights since. Yet a chant broke out in the Holte End after Jhon Duran had doubled their lead and as Real Madrid cancelled out and wiped away Borussia Dortmund’s advantage in the Bernabeu. “We are top of the league,” they chanted. They are, and the league in question is the Champions League.

Villa have had plenty of proof of the progress they have made under Unai Emery. Yet as the Spaniard approaches the second anniversary of his appointment, the standings provide some of the most startling. In danger of relegation from the Premier League when Emery arrived, the club from the Second City are first in Europe now, at the summit of a 36-team division. It may only be for 24 hours but it is a stunning sight.

Aston Villa defeated Bolgona 2-0 at Villa Park tonight and now sit top of the Champions League table with three wins from three. Unai Emery is working magic in European competition yet again.

Arsenal meanwhile are fourth with seven points. Mikel Arteta will be pleased with that at this stage.

Martinelli also addressed Leandro Trossard’s penalty miss saying: “He could’ve scored but we are behind him, supporting him. We know his quality and we go again. I’m sure he’s going to play well in the next game.”

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli gave his reaction to beating Shakhtar. In his post match interview he said: “Most important thing is to win. We knew how tough they are and we came here to win the game and we did it. We wanted to score more but we won the game and that’s the most important thing.

“It was my goal! It doesn’t matter if it was mine or an own goal, the most important thing is the win and we are really happy.

“We’ve lost some players but we know our qualities and that it’s tough to play in the Champions League. We didn’t have a good result in the last game in the Premier League and we came here to win and we did just that.”

Gabriel Martinelli was given the player of the match award. Arsenal manager said he played ‘really good’ and ‘looked sharp’ after picking up a niggle with the Brazilian national team.

Martinelli was behind the only goal of the game and created a lot of chances for the Gunners.

Arsenal earned another three points in the Champions League league phase with a less than comfortable 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners needed a win after their defeat to Bournemouth last Saturday and their desire to score was evident throughout a dominant first half. They had 22 attacks and created eight attempts with Declan Rice, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard all coming close.

It was Gabriel Martinelli who broke the deadlock with what proved to be the decisive strike. The Brazilian cut in from the left and struck a fine effort onto the post. The rebounded and hit Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk on the back before bobbling over the line.

In the second half Arsenal were awarded a penalty for a handball following a VAR check but Leandro Trossard has his effort stopped by Riznyk in some redemption for the keeper. Shakhtar then fought back well and the signs were strong that an equaliser was coming.

It wasn’t to be though with David Raya leaping to the left to make a fine save late in the game to give Arsenal the win.

90+6 mins: There goes the final whistle! Arsenal have hung on for a solid win. They get through a test and now prepare for Liverpool at the weekend.