- Arsenal lost 1-0 to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night
- Mikel Arteta’s side have given travelling fans little cheer on the road in Europe
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Arsenal fans had another European away day to forget at the San Siro on Wednesday night and it is becoming an all too familiar experience.
The Gunners came into their fourth Champions League game of the season having failed to win any of their previous three games in the Premier League, the mood at the club a far cry from what it has been in recent years.
Most expected a tight affair and that’s what they got with a stubborn Inter Milan side neutralising the Arsenal attack and claiming the three points courtesy of a relatively soft penalty for a handball from Mikel Merino.
It was a valiant display at the home of the Serie A champions but ultimately another defeat on the road in Europe.
While Mikel Arteta has received plaudits for back-to-back title challenges, his European record continues to come under more and more scrutiny.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal had another night to forget in Europe as they lost to inter Milan
The Gunners have won just one of their last seven matches on the road in Europe
And it is clear that that it is away from the Emirates where the major problems lie.
Opta have revealed that the north London club are without a win in their last five away games in the Champions League (D2 L3), their longest winless run in the competition since February 2005 (also 5).
Arsenal have also failed to score in all of their last four such away games, a record that is simply hard to ignore.
A 0-0 draw with Atalanta was their only other outing in the Champions League season, a game which required a miraculous double penalty save from David Raya to keep the scores level.
There was impressive 2-1 at Sevilla in the group stages last season but that was accompanied by a deserved 2-1 defeat to Lens and a drab 1-1 draw at PSV.
And there was nothing for those travelling supporters to cheer about in the knockout stages.
The Gunners were undone by a crushing 94th minute Galeno winner in a 1-0 loss at Porto before scraping through the last-16 tie on penalties.
Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Bayern Munich at the Allianz saw them exit the tournament last year
There were hopes of reaching a first semi-final since 2009 as they were drawn to face an out-of-sorts Bayern Munich side in the quarters with the two sides playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg.
Arteta’s men offered extremely little in the return leg with Joshua Kimmich heading home the only goal of an uneventful game to send them home.
In all the Premier League side have managed to win just one of seven away games since returning to the Champions League following a seven-year absence in 2023.
They’ve found the net just four times as well and it marks a stark contrast from the domestic away form that has been so impressive in that time.
The Gunners also lost 1-0 away to Porto in the last-16 of last season’s competition
Even in the Europa League campaign that came before this Arsenal needed an own goal to rescue a draw away at Sporting in the first knockout round before exiting on penalties at the Emirates.
The stats make for grim reading and Arteta’s men will be under big pressure to show more in their upcoming visits to Sporting and Girona.
Fortunately in the new Champions League format, Arsenal’s home form should be more than enough to see them through to the next stage.
Arsenal sit 12th in the 36-man table, just two points outside of the automatic qualification zone.
