Arsenal vs Shakhtar LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Gunners claim tight victory

Arsenal’s victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League came at a cost as Riccardo Calafiori added to Mikel Arteta’s injury concerns just days before the Gunners host Liverpool in the Premier League.

Calafiori hobbled off with an apparent knee injury after landing awkwardly in the second half of the 1-0 win at the Emirates, with Arteta expressing concern for the Italian and admitting it was “not great news”.

Arsenal will be without the suspended William Saliba against Liverpool and Calafiori would have been a possible replacement to start against Arne Slot’s side alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.

Arteta could also be without versatile defender Jurrien Timber, who has been sidelined since the 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month after making an impressive start to the new season.

Bukayo Saka missed his second game in a row as a result of the hamstring injury picked up while on England duty, with Arteta saying the forward is “unlikely” to face Liverpool as he is still yet to return to training.

Mikel Arteta said Riccardo Calafiori’s injury was “not great news” as the defender added to Arsenal’s injury pile-up ahead of the Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.

The Italian hobbled off in the second half of Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League after landing awkwardly and stretching his leg.

Arsenal will already be without centre-back William Saliba as the France international serves a one-match suspension for his red card against Bournemouth last weekend.

Bukayo Saka was again absent due to a hamstring injury while Martin Odegaard remains out with an ankle injury and is unlikely to return in time for the visit of Liverpool.

Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also on Arsenal’s injury list but Arteta said Ben White’s half-time substitution against Shakhtar was tactical.

Mikel Arteta admitted his side were tired in the second half against Shakhtar, who could have earned themselves a point were it not for David Raya’s excellent save to deny Pedrinho’s long-range shot in the 92nd minute.

But the Arsenal boss expects his side to recover in time to be “flying” when they host league leaders Liverpool at the Emirates, in what is shaping up to be a crucial clash at this early stage of the season.

“We played two nights ago, with players coming back from internationals, after flying from Brazil and many countries,” Arteta said. “I was expecting a bit of a drop-off. And the fact that we put so much in the first half and didn’t get the distance in terms of the scoreline, we paid a bit for that.

“Then we made life more difficult for us because we started to give the ball away in not the right areas and then it was more open. That didn”t help. But we have now four days. And believe me, come Sunday we’ll be flying. We’ll be in the right place.”

If there is a sense of apprehension around Arsenal at the moment, it went up a level late in the second half of this nervy 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. The sight of Riccardo Calafiori hobbling off after an awkward slip and becoming the latest addition to their lengthy injury list gives Mikel Arteta another headache ahead of facing Liverpool on Sunday. “He felt something,” Arteta said afterwards. “I don’t know the extent of it so in that sense that’s not great news.”

His side had to dig in here to claim another three points in the Champions League against a resolute Shakhtar team. There was a dip in energy after Calafiori’s injury, another after Leandro Trossard’s penalty was saved in the 75th minute. Not for the first time in this Champions League, Arsenal were indebted to David Raya, whose strong arm kept out a dipping shot from Pedrinho in the 92nd minute. It denied what would have been a famous point for the Ukrainian side.

Here’s the Arsenal manager giving his reaction to Amazon Prime Video:

Aston Villa could be forgiven for printing out the table, framing it and nailing it to the wall. The club who conquered the continent in 1982 have rarely hinted at scaling such heights since. Yet a chant broke out in the Holte End after Jhon Duran had doubled their lead and as Real Madrid cancelled out and wiped away Borussia Dortmund’s advantage in the Bernabeu. “We are top of the league,” they chanted. They are, and the league in question is the Champions League.

Villa have had plenty of proof of the progress they have made under Unai Emery. Yet as the Spaniard approaches the second anniversary of his appointment, the standings provide some of the most startling. In danger of relegation from the Premier League when Emery arrived, the club from the Second City are first in Europe now, at the summit of a 36-team division. It may only be for 24 hours but it is a stunning sight.

Aston Villa defeated Bolgona 2-0 at Villa Park tonight and now sit top of the Champions League table with three wins from three. Unai Emery is working magic in European competition yet again.

Arsenal meanwhile are fourth with seven points. Mikel Arteta will be pleased with that at this stage.

Martinelli also addressed Leandro Trossard’s penalty miss saying: “He could’ve scored but we are behind him, supporting him. We know his quality and we go again. I’m sure he’s going to play well in the next game.”

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli gave his reaction to beating Shakhtar. In his post match interview he said: “Most important thing is to win. We knew how tough they are and we came here to win the game and we did it. We wanted to score more but we won the game and that’s the most important thing.

“It was my goal! It doesn’t matter if it was mine or an own goal, the most important thing is the win and we are really happy.

“We’ve lost some players but we know our qualities and that it’s tough to play in the Champions League. We didn’t have a good result in the last game in the Premier League and we came here to win and we did just that.”

Gabriel Martinelli was given the player of the match award. Arsenal manager said he played ‘really good’ and ‘looked sharp’ after picking up a niggle with the Brazilian national team.

Martinelli was behind the only goal of the game and created a lot of chances for the Gunners.