Inzaghi praises Arsenal but Inter prove their strength after 1-0 triumph

epa11706392 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi gives instructions to his players during the UEFA Champions League football match between Inter and Arsenal FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, November 06, 2024. EPA-EFE/NICOLA MARFISI

Simone Inzaghi heaped praise on Arsenal as “one of the best teams I've seen in the Champions League so far”, but Inter proved their solidity despite massive squad rotation.

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

Ultimately, Hakan Calhanoglu scored a penalty – his 19th^Th Out of 19 for the club in all competitions – for Mikel Merino's attack just before half-time, then they held on as Arsenal had plenty of possession and very few real chances.

Inzaghi sees Inter ambitions against Arsenal

“It's a very important win, we had to fight against a very strong, intense team that caused us problems especially from set pieces,” Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

“Arsenal are one of the best teams I have seen in the Champions League so far this season. We started very well and defended very well in the second half. We wanted to win in front of our fans.

“Of course we are proud to have got four points in two games against Manchester City and Arsenal, especially with such strong performances. We are holding up well, but we still have four games left at this stage of the tournament.”

Check out the Inter 1-0 Arsenal player ratings

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

They also did it tonight despite resting numerous star players ahead of Sunday's Scudetto showdown against Napoli, with Marcus Thuram, Federico Dimarco, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all rested.

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

“When I say we have 23 first-choice players, I don't just say it like that, I say it because I really believe it's true. We proved it tonight as we made a lot of changes and didn’t see any difference.”

Thanks to his experience in several tournaments, Inzaghi has become one of the best squad rotation coaches in Italy.

“It's natural that at Inter you have to take it one game at a time. The game against Venezia was intense and in the last few weeks several players had to continue, so I had to give some of them a breather.

“It’s only right to enjoy a win like this against formidable opponents like Arsenal, a very strong team in my opinion, but we have shown stability and we have to keep going.”