LONDON — It was far from Arsenal’s most fluent display of the season, but Mikel Arteta’s side achieved their primary objective on Tuesday night, securing a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk to get their Champions League campaign firmly on track.
The decisive moment arrived on 29 minutes when Gabriel Martinelli cut inside from the left flank and struck a low drive that struck the post and rebounded off the back of Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk into the net.
Arsenal had the opportunity to put the contest to bed in the 77th minute when VAR awarded a penalty for handball, but Leandro Trossard saw his central spot-kick saved by Riznyk’s trailing leg.
In a nervous finish, David Raya preserved the points with a magnificent full-stretch fingertip save in the 92nd minute to deny Pedrinho’s 25-yard curling effort.
"In the Champions League, you have to suffer to win," Arteta reflected after the match. "We dominated the first 60 minutes and should have scored more, but fatigue crept in. The clean sheet and three points are what matter most heading into a massive week."
Arteta also addressed Bukayo Saka’s hamstring rehabilitation ahead of Sunday’s title clash against Liverpool at Emirates Stadium. "Bukayo has not trained with the team yet, but he is pushing hard. We will assess him over the next 48 hours," Arteta revealed.
The victory moves the Gunners to seven points from three Champions League fixtures with zero goals conceded in Europe.