Mikel Arteta’s team secured a narrow 1-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, despite not being at their best. The match saw Arsenal continue their inconsistent record from penalties, yet they managed to clinch the win.
The decisive moment came just before the half-hour mark when Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected shot struck the post and ricocheted back into the net off Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk. This incident marked the third own goal by a goalkeeper in this season’s Champions League, equalizing the record for the most own goals in a single campaign.
In the second half, Shakhtar’s Valerii Bondar was penalized for a handball, but Riznyk redeemed himself by saving the penalty taken by Leandro Trossard. This miss contributed to Arsenal’s troubling trend of missing four out of their last eight penalties in the Champions League after previously converting 11 of their last 12 attempts.
As the match progressed, Arsenal relied on goalkeeper David Raya to make crucial saves as they defended their slim lead. This marked Arsenal’s first 1-0 win in a Champions League group stage match since November 2013 against Borussia Dortmund and their first clean sheet streak of three consecutive games in the competition since November 2007.
Key statistics from the match highlight several noteworthy trends: Dmytro Riznyk’s own goal was the third of its kind in the UEFA Champions League this season, a record that matches the totals of seasons 2002-03 and 2015-16, as well as combining the counts from the previous four seasons. Additionally, Shakhtar Donetsk suffered their first run of failing to score in three consecutive UEFA Champions League matches since October 2021.
Riznyk’s unique performance, scoring an own goal while also saving a penalty, made him the third player in Champions League history to achieve this feat, following Benfica’s Mile Svilar in October 2017 against Manchester United.
Arsenal’s win against Shakhtar Donetsk emphasizes the team’s defensive capabilities, underscoring their quest for consistency in European competition.