Alan Shearer says Gabriel Jesus will be ‘frustrated’ after he failed to end his goal drought and was subbed off during Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Gunners made hard work of their home Champions League match against Ukrainian side Shakhtar on Tuesday night but ground out a 1-0 win thanks to Dmytro Riznyk’s own goal.
Arsenal bossed the early stages and took the lead inside half an hour as the lively Gabriel Martinelli struck the post and saw his effort hit the back of Shakhtar goalkeeper Riznyk before going in.
At that stage it felt as though Arsenal would go on to clinch an emphatic and comfortable victory over an inferior side still coping with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But the Gunners, who saw their unbeaten start to the season ended by Bournemouth at the weekend, struggled to break Shakhtar down and even had to withstand plenty of pressure in their own box before edging to a 1-0 win.
Arsenal’s frustration was epitomised 15 minutes from time by Leandro Trossard’s missed penalty, which was awarded for a soft handball in the box.
While the Gunners picked up three more points to add to the four they secured from their first two Champions League games, ex-England striker Shearer was underwhelmed by the hosts’ performance and said it was a particularly ‘frustrating’ night for Jesus.
Jesus started the match but was subbed off with 25 minutes remaining after missing two big chances to end his goal drought, which now stands at 23 games.
As Jesus made way for Arsenal summer signing Raheem Sterling, Amazon Prime co-commentator Shearer said: ‘He had the chances though, didn’t he?
‘He had a couple of really good chances. He will be frustrated this evening because he’s been given the opportunity and they created opportunities, two of them fell to him and he failed to put them away.’
On Arsenal’s performance, Shearer added: ‘It hasn’t been great from Arsenal but they got the win and it’s another clean sheet.
‘Looking at the big picture, two wins and a draw is a positive start to their Champions League campaign.
‘They’ve taken the points, in the grand scheme of things that’s all that matters. But the performance wasn’t a good one. Shakhtar can be very proud because they gave Arsenal a scare.’
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Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton echoed Shearer’s sentiment on BBC Radio 5 Live, saying: ‘Arsenal were pushed all the way.
‘Shakhtar Donetsk surprised me, they got confidence from Arsenal not taking their chances. The save from David Raya at the end was a brilliant save.
‘In attack Arsenal had numerous chances to put this game to bed. It is a good response from the defeat at the weekend. In terms of the Champions League Arsenal are in a pretty good position.’
Arsenal, bidding to win the league for the first time since 2004, return to Premier League action on Sunday against early leaders Liverpool.
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