Girona 1-2 Arsenal: Match report & 5 talking points as Nwaneri steals limelight | OneFootball

Arsenal finished the Champions League league phase with a 2-1 win over a Girona side already eliminated from the competition before the game kicked off.

Former Tottenham Hotspur loanee Arnaut Danjuma fired Girona into the lead midway through the first half, remarkably the first open play goal Arsenal have conceded in Europe this season.

But Jorginho equalised from the penalty spot, while Ethan Nwaneri's first Champions League goal had decisively put the Gunners in front before the half-time whistle.

Raheem Sterling also missed a penalty in stoppage time that would have been the icing on the cake.

How the game unfolded

The Gunners had two early sights of goal in northern Catalonia. Leandro Trossard might have expected to do better as he met Ethan Nwaneri's cross into the box with his body, while Riccardo Calafiori soon had the ball in the net with a tidy finish that was ruled marginally offside.

Danjuma looked threatening on Girona’s left flank, but Neto wasn't tested and Arsenal would have been satisfied with their level of control and relative comfort a quarter of the way through the contest. So, when the hosts took the lead, it was quite out of the blue.

Arsenal were cut open by a single pass into the left channel from centre-back Juanpe. Danjuma raced onto it and, seeing Neto 30 yards from goal, curled a shot around the stranded Brazilian, who still dived even though handling the ball would have resulted in a red card.

The Gunners responded well and had turned the game around completely by the time the first half ended. Thomas Partey's bulldozing run into the box was responsible for drawing Arsenal level, battling his way through tackles and ending up being taken out by Arnau Martinez. Jorginho kept his composure amid the heckles from the home fans and fired into the bottom right corner.

Nwaneri's go-ahead strike a few moments later was next level, showing no fear as he cut inside from the right and fired an unstoppable left-footed strike beyond the reach of Pau Lopez. There was also still time for Trossard to hit the bar from a narrow angle just before the interval.

Arsenal remained on top. Half-time substitute Jurrien Timber inadvertently stopped a Nwaneri corner from directly nestling in the bottom corner in his own attempts to turn the ball in. Calafiori had Lopez flying across goal an hour in, chasing a shot that narrowly missed.

Girona made five changes, all within the first 25 minutes of the second half, in a bid to switch things up and give Arsenal different questions to answer. Mikel Arteta also made further use of his bench, handing another opportunity to Myles Lewis-Skelly and throwing on Kai Havertz.

Just as the game looked to be petering out, the hosts had a would-be equaliser from substitute and club legend Cristhian Stuani ruled out by VAR for offside. Neto also made a comfortable save from Martinez’s close-range header, lacking power, late on.

Sterling had the chance to make extra sure of the win at the death, fortutiously winning a penalty after Alejandro Frances unfathomably flicked a hand at the loose ball as it popped up. The on-loan winger stepped up himself, but saw Lopez parry the resultant spot-kick behind for a corner.

Check out the player ratings for Girona vs Arsenal here.

Mikel Arteta has planned ahead / MANAURE QUINTERO/GettyImages

With a top eight finish effectively assured prior to kick-off, it was clear that Mikel Arteta's team selection was more than a little bit motivated by Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

William Saliba, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber all began on the bench. David Raya travelled with the squad to Spain but was declared "not fit" by the manager and did not make the selection. Veteran loanee Neto was handed a debut instead.

Depending on Raya's availability, all six would be expected to return at the weekend, when Arsenal will be looking for a victory to keep as much pressure on Liverpool as possible and put nine points between themselves and City.

Neto's nightmare debut

Neto had a poor night in goal / MANAURE QUINTERO/GettyImages

Neto joined on loan from Bournemouth last summer to cover Aaron Ramsdale's exit and has had to wait until now for his debut due to being cup-tied in the Carabao Cup.

At 35 years and 194 days, the Brazilian was Arsenal's oldest debutant in 110 years – since 36-year-old Ned Liddell in 1915. But it wasn’t an occasion he will look back fondly on. He had a nervy moment on the ball almost straight from the opening kick-off and later had a moment of madness when he was caught in no-man's land 30 yards from goal as Girona took the lead.

With Raya ruled out through injury in this one, it doesn't bode well for important games to come if that was anything more than just a precaution.

Nwaneri unfazed

17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri won the game / Ryan Pierse/GettyImages

One player at the opposite end of his career journey was completely unfazed and that was Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old encapsulates the old cliché of 'if you’re good enough, you're old enough' and is doing a great job at making sure Bukayo Saka's absence is being felt so hard.

Nwaneri is a player brimming with confidence and his excellent maiden Champions League goal shortly before half-time, on his first start in the competition, was evidence of that. Jude Bellingham is the only Englishman to have scored a Champions League goal at a younger age – by just 25 days.

Crying out for a striker

Leandro Trossard played well but isn't a striker / JOSEP LAGO/GettyImages

As much as Nwaneri impressed out wide, and Leandro Trossard make a positive impact, Arsenal lacked presence in the penalty area to really make the most of their superior quality.

Trossard isn't a natural 'number nine', nor is usual starter Kai Havertz. Gabriel Jesus has done a decent impression of a centre-forward at times, but the Brazilian is inconsistent and now ruled out for the foreseeable future with a serious knee injury.

Arsenal need a striker. It's the piece of the puzzle that has been missing for years.

News emerged shortly before this one that Arsenal had been rebuffed with an offer for Aston Villa front-man Ollie Watkins. It would take a lot to land the England international before Monday’s transfer deadline, while other rumoured targets like Dusan Vlahovic or Benjamin Sesko might be considerably more attainable in the summer.

In the age of PSR, Arsenal can't panic buy and get it wrong. But it feels as though they won't ever reach their full potential until the team is complete with a proper goalscorer up front.

Sterling's struggles continue

No goals and a missed penalty for Raheem Sterling / Ryan Pierse/GettyImages

The rotation in the Arsenal ranks handed Raheem Sterling a rare start. The 30-year-old winger has only found the net this season against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup back in September.

It's five years since his 31-goal season for Manchester City and it seems like that player is only getting further and further away. Despite winning the late penalty that he himself was unable to convert, Sterling was the least effective of Arsenal's starting attackers in this one and was cautioned for simulation, albeit harshly, to rub more salt into that wound.

The wait to become the first player to score for three English clubs in the Champions League goes on.