Sheer Champions League Dominance: Arsenal remain unbeaten and claim victory over Inter Milan
- therookiereporters
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
After a much-anticipated night of entertainment, Arsenal took on Inter Milan with ease in a 3-1 victory over the Italian side on Tuesday night.
Arsenal’s place in the round of 16 has been doubly secured with their victory against Inter Milan on Tuesday night. With a 100% win record for the group stages, Arsenal look to be the fiercest competition for the next stages of the competition. Inter Milan, however, still have the chance to compete in the round of 16 by competing in the playoffs, even with one more game to go in the league stage. Will these two teams meet each other once again?
If we look at the game statistically, the two teams were almost evenly matched. The shots taken from both sides were similar, 15 and 14 for Inter Milan and Arsenal, shots on target were the same story, and possession was 51% to 49% for Inter Milan too. Stats don’t always paint the full picture though, given the scoreline. Inter Milan did play well, however, where Arsenal took their chances, Inter Milan failed to finish off their opportunities, which resulted in their loss against the unbeaten Champions League side. This win for Arsenal allowed them to finish in the top 2 of the league stages, meaning they now have the opportunity to play at home during the second-leg of games.
The scoreline was opened up by Gabriel Jesus, who has been out due to injury for the last 11 months. According to The Guardian, Jesus said on Tuesday that he wanted to fulfil his ambition of winning trophies with Arsenal, and with his team seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and still in both domestic cup competitions, he will never get a better opportunity. He ended the night with a stunning brace - something that many wouldn’t expect from a player who has just returned from a long-term injury and no play time in almost a year.
After the game, Jesus spoke openly about how important this game was to him (The Guardian, 2025):
“It’s a dream night. When I was a kid. I watched a lot of Serie A, so to be here in this stadium and score here – I had tears in my eyes because I always dreamed of being here.”
Arteta didn’t hesitate to praise Jesus on his big return to the club on Italian soil:
“We’ve been missing Gabi a lot.
“I think he’s going to raise confidence levels in the teams because we now have different profiles in that position, like we have with the wingers in other positions. And the fact that those players are playing at that level gives the team a great impact as well in the game. It will only make us better.”
Inter Milan weren’t quick to give up the fight though. They quickly clapped back with an equaliser, but they just couldn’t hold off Arsenal's strong attacking frontrunners, which led to a neatly placed header from Jesus. When talking about Arsenal’s performance against his team, Chivu said to Sky Sports Italia that he was impressed by them:
“They had more intensity, technique and pace, they occupied the space well, attacked the lines with intensity and speed, the same with the second balls, as they dive into every duel.
“We tried to stay in the match, we played quite well in the first half and at 1-1 could’ve scored another. That doesn’t mean we would’ve gone on to win, but incidents do change the mood of the teams.”
Gyokeres, who has made little impact since joining the Arsenal squad, sees more competition for his place in the starting 11 with Kai Havertz and the return of Gabriel Jesus, who has returned in an impressive form. However, a glimmer of brilliance was seen against Inter Milan when he came off of the bench to score a brilliant goal, securing their victory against a strong Italian side.
During the post-match conference, Arteta spoke about what this game meant for the club, not just an individual win, but as a marker for the team’s overall performance over this season:
“We’re very proud, not only for tonight’s game but for what we’ve done in the competition so far in seven matches. With one game to go to be already in the position that we want to be.
“A massive prize to the team because we know how difficult it is. And then tonight it was a test. Probably we didn’t have the necessity in terms of the points, but we really had the hunger and the desire to come to a place like this against a top, top side and prove what we are and what we can do. And I’m really, really pleased with what I’ve seen.”
With the league stage coming to a close, Arsenal is more than likely to go straight through with no issues, and Inter Milan will face Dortmund away from home in the last match of the league stages. Do Arsenal have the chance to win it all? Or will reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain take the title once more?
Article written by Naeemah Pathan
