For all the money spent, for all the attacking talent that Arsenal have recruited this summer, it was two forwards whose future appeared to be elsewhere who earned a hard-fought victory in their opening Champions League group game.
Arguably away to Athletic Bilbao, and despite losing in the Premier League at Liverpool, proved to be Arsenal’s toughest test so far this campaign and they came through it thanks to a goal from Gabriel Martinelli – just 36 seconds after he came on with Arsenal’s fastest substitutes’ goal in their Champions League history – with an assist from fellow substitute Leandro Trossard. Then the roles were later reversed.
Instant impact!
Martinelli gives Arsenal the lead 36 seconds after coming off the bench against Athletic Club ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ViyE1nLSbK
By winning, Arsenal also became the first side in the history of the Champions League and, before that, the European Cup to be victorious in six consecutive games against Spanish sides. It is not a statistic that means much beyond the knowledge that such encounters are never easy.
