By OUR MAN IN MILAN
GABRIEL JESUS rose from the depths of the bench to provide a divine intervention at the San Siro as Arsenal dismantled Inter Milan to march into the Champions League last-16.
On a night where the stars aligned for Mikel Arteta, the Brazilian frontman proved he is still a world-class operator, bagging a clinical brace before super-sub Viktor Gyokeres applied the finishing touch to a 3-1 masterclass.
The win—Arsenal’s seventh on the bounce in Europe—didn’t just secure their passage to the knockout rounds; it sent a shudder through the rest of the continent.
The Gunners aren’t just participating; they are colonising the Champions League.
JESUS DELIVERS
The San Siro is a cathedral of football, and it took just ten minutes for Jesus to find his pulpit.
After Jurrien Timber’s scuffed effort fell kindly, the No. 9 reacted with the predatory instinct of a shark, poking the ball past Yann Sommer to hush the Italian faithful.
Inter, last season’s finalists, aren’t easy meat.
They bit back through Petar Sucic, who unleashed a 17th-minute thunderbolt that gave David Raya no chance.
But this Arsenal side is forged in steel. On the half-hour mark, Bukayo Saka swung in a trademark corner, Leandro Trossard flicked it on, and there was Jesus again, nodding home from point-blank range to restore the lead. It was his first European goal since April 2024, and he celebrated like a man reborn.
As the Nerazzurri threw the kitchen sink at the Gunners in the second half, Arteta turned to his bench. Enter the “Swedish Sensation,” Viktor Gyokeres.
While Jesus provided the craft, Gyokeres provided the kill.
With six minutes left on the clock, the substitute picked up the ball on the edge of the area and bent a wicked, curling effort into the top corner. Sommer got a glove to it, but the power was too much. Game, set, and match.
Arsenal’s travelling “Red and White Army” serenaded the final whistle with oles as their side made history. Seven wins from seven matches is a club record, and with a top-two finish in the league phase guaranteed, the Gunners have secured the ultimate prize: home advantage for the second leg of the knockouts.
Arteta’s “Starboys” are no longer just the future—they are the right now. And on this evidence, Europe should be very, very afraid.
