Key stats
- Arsenal have won their last seven Champions League games, their longest winning streak in the competition.
- Inter Milan have lost their last three Champions League, their joint longest losing streak along with one they experienced between 5th April and 14th September 2011.
- Mikel Arteta's side currently find themselves on a seven-match away unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Highlights
Analysis
The game swung back and forth throughout the encounter before Arsenal managed to secure the victory.
Match report
The Gunners entered the pitch knowing that automatic qualification for the last 16 had already been secured following Manchester City’s shock defeat to Bodø/Glimt earlier in the evening, but they still began in rampant fashion here, taking a deserved 10th-minute lead.
Jesus applied a sliding poacher’s finish when Jurriën Timber scuffled an effort into the Brazilian’s path at the end of a sublime free-flowing move.
It was Arsenal’s 400th European Cup goal, but their lead was wiped out a mere eight minutes later. Petar Sučić unleashed a superb right-footed finish past a helpless David Raya, as a loose ball fell perfectly into his path after Marcus Thuram’s and Nicolò Barella’s efforts were blocked.
The Gunners defence was looking uncharacteristically porous, and Thuram should have done much better when he lashed a shot over the bar following a rapid Inter break forward.
Arteta’s men punished that profligacy, as Jesus nodded home from inside the six-yard box, after Leandro Trossard headed Bukayo Saka’s corner back across the face of goal to reclaim the lead before HT.
The Gunners were pushing to extend their advantage when they returned for the restart, with Yann Sommer called into action to deny Eberechi Eze, before Trossard’s left-footed volley flew past the far post.
Cristian Chivu looked to freshen up his attack in response with the introduction of Pio Esposito, who had a chance to restore parity when he latched onto Luis Henrique’s pass and fired just wide of the target.
However, there was still time for the visitors to add a third with a fine finish from Viktor Gyökeres, who played a one-two with Saka from Gabriel Martinelli’s superb long ball forward to cap off a fine night’s work in northern Italy.
This result extends Arsenal’s unbeaten run to 12 games across all competitions (W10, D2), and they are now guaranteed a top-two finish in the UCL league phase with this result.
Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri’s top-eight hopes remain in the balance, as they succumbed to a third consecutive UCL defeat for the first time since 2011.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
Post-match comments
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus says scoring two goals made for a "dream night" that brought tears to his eyes.
"It's a dream night," he told Amazon Prime. "I always dreamed of being a footballer. I watched when I was a kid.
"I watched a lot of Serie A, so to be here in this stadium and score here is tears in my eyes because I always dreamed of being here.
"There is always a reason that things happen even whether it's good things or difficult things. I learned that during my 11 months out of the field.
"It is always difficult to play against Inter Milan. We came here last season and lost.
"Tonight we played better than them, we controlled them but they are a top team and they attack.
"We scored at the end and got the three points. We have to keep going because we have another one at the weekend."
Full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly says Arsenal have the capability to fight on multiple fronts as they find themselves alive in both cups as well as the Premier League and the Champions League.
"We have it in us," he told Amazon Prime. "We have depth and the mentality of the squad to come here and win and put in a performance like this.
"We don't want to look at anyone else but we have to control the controllables and that's what we have to keep doing for the rest of the season.
"We spoke before the game that it was an important step for us to take as a team. We're happy with how we did.
He added that the atmosphere in the Gunners camp had made for an incredible journey so far.
"It's so special," he said. "It's been amazing to be a part of this and the harmony. We have each other's backs."