Match Report: Arsenal claim 2-0 win over Athletic Club in UCL opener

Arsenal made a winning start to their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory away at Athletic Club, thanks to second-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

First half: Arsenal held by disciplined Athletic

The opening stages at San Mamés were cagey, with Athletic pressing high and the home crowd in full voice for their side’s first Champions League appearance since 2014. Declan Rice picked up an early yellow card, while Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze both threatened without finding a breakthrough.

The Gunners grew into the contest around the 25-minute mark, with Viktor Gyökeres testing the goalkeeper and Riccardo Calafiori creating chances from the left. However, a collision between Gabriel and Gyökeres briefly stopped play, and Athletic nearly capitalised before the interval with a chance that went wide. The sides went into the break level at 0-0.

Second half: Substitutes make the difference

Arsenal came out stronger after the restart, with Madueke forcing saves and Gyökeres going close before being replaced by Leandro Trossard on 64 minutes following his earlier head injury. Athletic introduced fresh legs of their own and continued to compete, but it was Arsenal’s substitutes who proved decisive.

On 70 minutes, Gabriel Martinelli scored less than a minute after coming on, finishing well to silence the home fans. Both Mikel Merino and Unai Gomez were forced off injured in the closing stages, leaving each side temporarily down to 10 men.

Arsenal sealed the win in the 86th minute when Martinelli provided the assist for Trossard to make it 2-0. Christian Nørgaard made his first competitive appearance for the club, while Piero Hincapié also came on for his debut late on.