Arsenal player ratings vs Athletic Club: Gabriel Martinelli makes impact as Leandro Trossard shows class | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta’s second half substitutions make the difference as Arsenal’s squad depth shines through in Champions League opener

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard came off the bench to score as Arsenal kick-started their Champions League campaign with a hard-fought victory over Athletic Club.

Athletic Club started brightly and were the more threatening team in the first half as Arsenal struggled to play through the Spanish side’s aggressive press.

Arsenal continued to toil after the break, but Mikel Arteta’s substitutes changed the game as Trossard combined with Martinelli to hand the visitors the lead in the 71st minute.

Less than a minute after his introduction from the bench, Martinelli raced clear from Trossard’s pass before finishing past Unai Simon.

Trossard then sealed the three points as his effort was deflected home following good work from Martinelli to find him inside the area.

Standard Sport rated the Arsenal players from Estadio de San Mames.

David Raya 6

Stayed alert as Athletic Club probed, but wasn’t called into action all that often.

Jurrien Timber 8

Helped get Madueke into the game by pressing aggressively and offering an option in possession. Produced an excellent cross for Gyokeres, which the Swede arguably should have done better with.

Cristhian Mosquera 7

Starting once again in place of William Saliba, he looked assured in the face of mounting pressure from Athletic Club.

Gabriel 7

Composed and aggressive defending from Gabriel, who showed his experience in a tough atmosphere. A fourth clean sheet in five games.

Riccardo Calafiori 7

Confident defensively, but was unable to affect the game going forward as Timber did on the opposite flank.

Martin Zubimendi 5

Couldn’t get on the ball and dictate the play as he’d have liked. Let Berenguer get in behind him as Athletic Club came close to opening the scoring before half-time.

Struggle: Martin Zubimendi

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Declan Rice 6

Acquitted himself well after an early yellow card. Played an important role defensively as Arsenal held on to their lead.

Mikel Merino 6

Was made to work hard by Athletic Club and looked stretched early on, but recovered well to help Arsenal towards an important three points.

Eberechi Eze 5

Struggled to get into the game and should have been more alert to Noni Madueke’s inviting cross in the first-half. Didn’t look comfortable hugging the touchline with space limited in the middle.

Noni Madueke 7

Looked dangerous when he got on the ball, but his execution was poor. Got into some promising positions, taking on his man at every opportunity.

Viktor Gyokeres 5

Spurned Arsenal’s first real chance midway through the first-half, heading wide from Timber’s cross, and should also have done better when getting a head to Declan Rice’s free-kick. Replaced after 64 minutes.

Substitutes

Leandro Trossard 9

Came off the bench to assist Martin Zubimendi at the weekend and repeated the trick to set up Martinelli before sealing the win with a deflected effort. The Belgian may not be Arteta’s first-choice option, but what he does offer is consistency.

Gabriel Martinelli 9

Could not have asked for a better impact off the bench, firing Arsenal ahead seconds after taking to the pitch before setting up Trossard with some neat wingplay. Needed a reaction after seeing Eze start the last two games ahead of him, and delivered a reminder of the danger he offers running in behind defences.

Instant impact: Gabriel Martinelli

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Christian Norgaard N/A

An Arsenal debut and also a Champions League debut for Norgaard, who has struggled with injury since arriving from Brentford.

Piero Hincapie N/A

Another Arsenal debut. Hincapie will have a challenge on his hands to force his way into the Gunners’ defence.