Arsenal beat Shakhtar and advance in the Champions League

Gabriel Martinelli makes the winning goal that takes the English team to the G-8 of the Champions League

Summary

In a game with nine Brazilians on the field, Arsenal beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 this Tuesday in London, in the third round of the UEFA Champions League. Gabriel Martinelli made the play that ended in an own goal by goalkeeper Riznyk, in the first half. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Magalhães also started, and Jorginho, a naturalized Italian, came on in the second half. On the Ukrainian team, Pedro Henrique and Eguinaldo started the match, and three other Brazilians came on in the final stage: Kevin, Pedrinho and Marlo Gomes.

ARSENAL IN THE G-8

The win took Arsenal to seven points, provisionally fifth in the Champions League table with Wednesday’s nine games remaining. Shakhtar are 28th with one point. A projection by one stats website suggests 16 points are needed to secure a place in the next round .

ARSENAL’S DOMINANCE IN THE FIRST HALF

The first half strategy was clear from the first minute, marked by relentless pressure from Arsenal in attack. Despite their dominance, the home team struggled to finish off plays and still had a good performance from goalkeeper Riznyk. The goal came in the 28th minute from a beautiful play by Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli and a touch of bad luck from the Shakhtar goalkeeper: Martinelli’s shot hit the right post, and the ball hit Riznyk’s back before going in.