Coach Mikel Arteta faced dissatisfaction from many Arsenal fans due to his decisions in the hard-fought victory against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Despite playing at home, Arsenal only won by a single goal, which came from an own goal by Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.
Arteta received criticism for some perplexing decisions during the match. In the 72nd minute, new signing Riccardo Calafiori was injured and had to leave the field, yet Arteta chose to substitute him with Myles Lewis-Skelly instead of Jakub Kiwior. Fans were unimpressed with Arteta’s decision to keep Calafiori on the pitch despite his injury issues. One commenter wrote, “Calafiori got injured because Arteta doesn’t trust the players.”
In the 75th minute, Arsenal was awarded a penalty after Shakhtar defender Valeriy Bondar handled the ball in the box. Referee Benoit Bastien, after consulting VAR, decided to award the penalty, but the choice of Leandro Trossard to take it sparked controversy.
With Bukayo Saka absent due to injury, many were hoping Kai Havertz would take the penalty, but instead, Trossard stepped up and had his shot saved by goalkeeper Riznyk, leading to frustration among fans. One fan wrote, “Havertz has scored 20 out of 21 penalties. Why let Trossard take it?”
Arteta explained after the match that he did not interfere with the decision on who would take the penalty and that Trossard chose to take it himself. He stated, “I don’t know what the discussion was on the pitch, but Trossard decided to take it. It’s unfortunate he missed.”
In this match, Arteta also had to substitute Ben White early in the second half after he received a yellow card in the 34th minute. The Spanish coach revealed, “We’ve had enough difficulties playing with 10 men. Shakhtar attacked with high intensity on White’s side, and I didn’t want to take any risks.”