Arsenal’s quest for Champions League glory began in perfect fashion with a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
The Gunners, who have never won this competition in their history, took the lead through substitute Gabriel Martinelli on 72 minutes, courtesy of fellow substitute Leandro Trossard’s assist.
And it was role reversal 15 minutes later as Martinelli provided an assist for Trossard to score from and complete the scoreline.
Daily Mail Sport’s ISAAN KHAN was at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao to oversee the win…
Squad depth comes to the fore
Make no bones about it: Arsenal were the overwhelming favourites here.
Gabriel Martinelli was among the goalscorers as Arsenal won 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao
Leandro Trossard (second left) was the other scorer leaving Mikel Arteta with plenty to applaud
Even with key men Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Kai Havertz ruled out with injury, the Gunners’ strength in depth is impressive – and they flexed their muscles over their Basque hosts here to send a warning to the rest of Europe.
Picking up early wins in a competition as unforgiving as this is crucial and, with 20 minutes left on the clock, the game was in the balance.
But Mikel Arteta now has options – and lots of them. Even with so many star players missing, the Arsenal boss was able to bring quality off the bench.
On came the diminutive Leandro Trossard for Viktor Gyokeres and on came Gabriel Martinelli for Eberechi Eze with a point to prove. Thirty six seconds later Arsenal were ahead and never looked back.
Such are the luxuries afforded by a £250million summer splurge. Arteta has a player in reserve for each position who can come off the bench and make an impact.
Bilbao had started quickly, stringing a few attacks together which unsettled Arsenal.
Inaki Williams, the brother of Nico who was injured and previously of interest to the Gunners, used his pace to keep the backline alert.
Oihan Sancet proved himself a nuisance at the tip of midfield, orchestrating play around the area and pressing Bilbao forward.
Summer signing Eberechi Eze (right) started for Arsenal, highlighting their bolstered squad
They had the courage to get up the pitch and created chances, ignoring the prestige of their opposition.
Alex Berenguer should have done better when played through by Williams, and a few of their crosses required timely intervention.
Instead, Arteta’s men walked away with a result and it was all down to their squad depth.
Victor Gyokeres is heating up
The man behind the mask – well, Batman villain Bane’s mask – showed signs he is close to being unleashed.
Gyokeres has had a tendency to be on the periphery in matches in his brief Arsenal career so far, particularly when his team-mates provide him with limited service.
He’s a player who thrives on making darting runs behind defences and needs such service to feed off.
In northern Spain the striker enjoyed much more of the ball, in particular linking up with Mikel Merino well on the left side which is a favoured area for the Swede.
Victor Gyokeres is showing signs of improvement as he gets used to his new Arsenal settings
Time and again, he marched through and tried to make things happen, whether driving into the area, crossing or laying off for his team-mates.
He clashed heads with Gabriel on 31 minutes after the Brazilian accidentally headbutted the big Swede when both competed for the ball at a free-kick.
Gyokeres was left bleeding and was wrapped in bandage but this didn’t deter him. He kept running, kept making those darts in behind and kept competing.
He perhaps should have done better when heading wide from Jurrien Timber’s excellent cross into the box but the ball is reaching him more. All he needs now is to up the ante in front of goal.
Gabriel Martinelli is inspired
The Brazilian has clearly taken Arteta’s decision to sign two wingers in the summer personally.
Watching Noni Madueke, who was excellent here again, and Eberechi Eze get the nod clearly galvanised Martinelli.
It took him just 36 seconds to break the deadlock, latching onto fellow substitute Trossard’s flick-on to dribble his way towards goal.
After fending off a defender, he managed to compose himself and coolly slot the ball past goalkeeper Unai Simon. Arteta is a big fan of Martinelli and this was a timely reminder of the quality he possesses.
Martinelli scored 36 seconds after coming on for Arsenal and looked galvanised here in Bilbao
It was the directness and hunger to drive at goal which has often been missing since the Brazilian’s breakthrough 2022-23 campaign, where he struck 15 goals in the Premier League.
In the 1-0 defeat by Liverpool before the international break, Martinelli stuttered on the ball and often killed his team’s impetus. Tonight was different.
Riccardo Calafiori vigorously pointed to the back of Martinelli’s shirt in celebration to remind critics of the winger’s talents.
The fact Martinelli was on the bench, even with big names missing, highlights just how well stocked Arteta is for Arsenal’s trophy charge.
