BLOODIED and bruised, Arsenal have Gabriel Martinelli to thank for a magical 36-SECOND match-winning intervention.
The Brazilian has been out of sorts for the Gunners for some time now, with some questioning whether he has a future under Mikel Arteta after a busy summer of arrivals.
But what a reminder this was of his qualities and what he still has to offer this season, stepping off the bench and scoring the goal that finally saw off a dogged Athletic Bilbao.
Blink and you’d have missed it. On for Eberechi Eze – who had a Champions League debut to forget – in the 71st minute, Martinelli watched Unai Simon take a goal kick for Bilbao.
Within a flash, the ball had been pumped back up field, Leandro Trossard – who had come on six minutes earlier – flicked over the high line and Martinelli was suddenly in.
After just 36 seconds on the pitch and with only his FOURTH touch, Martinelli was firing the ball under the body of Simon and celebrating in the corner, pointing to the delighted visiting fans up in the gods of San Mames.
To cap off a brilliant set of substitutions by Arteta, Trossard added a second in the 87th minute – teed up by Martinelli – enraging the locals for an alleged foul in the build-up.
And that saw Arsenal make history as they became the first team in Champions League history to win six games in a row against Spanish opposition.
Boy did Arsenal need that. This looked to be turning into such an underwhelming and disappointing return to the Champions League, one which also saw Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Merino pick up nasty head gashes that needed to be mopped up and bandaged.
Hardly ideal preparation for welcoming Manchester City on Sunday. But thanks to some late magic – on the pitch and in the dug-out – Arsenal head home with a real feel-good factor.
That should not cover up how poor Arteta’s men were for large periods. It’s been a while since the Spaniard has been forced to watch such dross from his own players, but that’s exactly what he got in the opening 45 minutes.
Celebrating their Basque-only recruitment policy, Bilbao fans revealed a banner pre-match that read: ‘Unique In The World’. Arsenal were uniquely rubbish.
Bilbao were always going to be up for it, running and pressing like crazed rabbits early on with their raucous support doing their best to burst eardrums with their deafening noise – understandable after an 11-year absence from Europe’s elite competition.
And yet the visitors appeared to be caught off guard, sloppily playing into Bilbao’s hands with needless stray passes and a real lack of energy or urgency.
Arsenal had no excuses. Arteta had gone very strong, despite the numerous weapons he now has at his disposal in this squad, the only change bringing in Declan Rice with skipper Martin Odegaard left at home to fully get over a bruised shoulder.
Bilbao were not without their injury issues either – talisman Nico Williams, a target of Arsenal this summer, watching from the stands after picking up a niggle on international duty.
Not that you would have noticed from the off. Arsenal struggled to match the pace of their opponents. Rice went into the book after just seven minutes for a wild challenge just outside his box.
Noni Madueke and Eze looked frustrated on the flanks with the lack of service, but nearly combined in the 21st minute for an utterly undeserving lead.
Madueke nicked the ball from Inaki Williams on the byline and squared for Eze, who waited too long to tap into an empty net as Andoni Gorosabel produced a brilliant interception.
Poor first half
Gyokeres was pretty anonymous too – making just one successful pass inside the opening 18 minutes – before a flurry of openings. At least one of them should have been buried.
A tame effort from a tight angle after galloping unchallenged from the half-way line was followed by a diving header put wide despite Jurrien Timber’s inch-perfect delivery.
He was down in pain at the half-hour mark, clutching the back of his head to stop blood from pouring out of a nasty deep cut caused by Gabriel with a mistimed header.
The big Swede managed to carry on with a Terry Butcher-style headband – a man whose fighting spirit and grit would have been handy in this tough day at the office for the North Londoners.
Arteta could have been giving a half-time team talk trailing 1-0 had Alex Berenguer not bobbled a shot across goal before the break, pouncing on a gap left by Timber who was down the other end of the pitch attempting to put his right boot back on.
Bootless and pretty toothless, which carried on into the second half as Gyokeres headed another good pick-out – this time from a Rice free-kick – wide. The bandage was not to blame there.
But at least the chances were now coming. Madueke could have squared it to Gyokeres in the box instead of forcing Simon into a decent stop at his near post, finally giving Bilbao left-back Adama Boiro something to think about.
Arteta lost patience in the 65th minute, bringing off Gyokeres for Leandro Trossard to play as a makeshift No.9 with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus still watching from home.
And in the 71st minute, Eze’s Champions League bow was cut short for Martinelli.
What an inspired double change it turned out to be with the duo assisting each other as Trossard saw his poke from close-range deflected in.
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