Inzaghi praises Arsenal, but Inter prove strength in depth after 1-0 triumph

epa11706392 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi gives instructions to his players during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Inter and Arsenal FC at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, November 6, 2024. EPA-EFE/NICOLA MARFISI

Simone Inzaghi hailed Arsenal as ‘one of the best teams I’ve seen so far in the Champions League’, but Inter proved their solidity despite massive squad turnover.

It was a hard-fought win at the San Siro, although it almost got off to the perfect start when Denzel Dumfries smashed a shot against the crossbar in the second minute.

In the end, Hakan Calhanoglu converted a penalty – his 19th^th out of 19 for the club in all competitions – with Mikel Merino handling the offense at half-time, they held out as Arsenal had plenty of possession and very few real chances.

Inzaghi sees Inter ambition against Arsenal

“It’s a very important win, we had to fight for it against a very strong, intense team that caused us problems above all from set-pieces.” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

“Arsenal are one of the best teams I’ve seen so far in the Champions League this season. We started very well, then defended really well in the second half. We wanted the win in front of our fans.

– We are obviously proud to have got four points from two games against Manchester City and Arsenal, above all with such strong performances. We are holding out well, but there are still four games left in this stage of the tournament.”

Check Inter 1-0 Arsenal Player Ratings

Inter and Atalanta are the only teams out of 36 in the Champions League this season not to have conceded a single goal after four games.

They achieved it tonight too despite resting several star men ahead of Sunday’s Scudetto clash with Napoli, with Marcus Thuram, Federico Dimarco, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all rested.

“I was very happy to see the unity and solidity of the team. Arsenal had a lot of set pieces but in the end Sommer barely had enough to make a save,” continued Inzaghi.

“When I say we have 23 first-choice players, I’m not just throwing that phrase out, it’s because I genuinely believe it’s true. We proved that tonight when we made a lot of changes and saw no difference.”

Inzaghi has become one of the best team rotation coaches in Italy thanks to his experience in several tournaments.

“It’s natural when you’re at Inter that you have to take it one game at a time. The match with Venezia was intense and over the last few weeks several players have had to continue so I had to give some of them a break.

“It’s only right to enjoy a win like this against an impressive opponent like Arsenal, a very strong team in my opinion, but we showed solidity and have to keep it going.”