Inter tear apart Arsenal's flimsy defence

Arsenal 0 Inter Milan 3

Arsenal’s Champions League pretensions were embarrassingly exposed as Inter Milan tore apart their flimsy defence with almost nonchalant ease at Highbury.

Arsene Wenger’s side were 3-0 down before half-time against a side that was without Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba, while Hernan Crespo had been sold to Chelsea.

Booed off at the break, they even suffered the indignity of Thierry Henry’s penalty being saved and went on to record their worst-ever home defeat in the European Cup.

For this was a night when Arsenal were given a European masterclass by last season’s beaten semi-finalists and Wenger learned the stark truth about own side’s defensive flaws.

Of course, they still have time to recover in the group stage, but they must now do so in Moscow and Kiev, with a defence that simply does not look up to the task at the highest level.

It was their 42 goals conceded in the Premiership last season which cost them the title and it was their inability to hold onto leads in Europe that saw them eliminated before the knock-out stage.

Arsenal’s new-look back-four had always seemed more like a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes after Wenger’s failure to sign the top-class centre-back they had been crying out for.

With Sol Campbell looking a pale shadow of his normal self as he understandably struggled to come to terms with the stroke suffered by his father, Arsenal were shorn of leadership at the back.

However manfully Kolo Toure may have tried to transform himself into a central defender, even he was struggling to cope with the extraordinary pace of 18-year-old Nigerian Obafemi Martins.

With Ashley Cole in poor form, just as he has lately been for England, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann found himself under siege as the shots rained down on him.

Time after time, the Arsenal defence invitingly opened up for Inter to pour through and this is a side continually criticised in Italy for their lack of adventure.

Arsenal actually started rather brightly, with Sylvain Wiltord and Fredrik Ljungberg wasting half-chances, but the writing was soon on the wall.

Lehmann managed to dive at the feet of Martins to avert the first sign of danger but the striker responded soon afterwards by flicking the ball into the path of strike partner Julio Ricardo Cruz.

He lifted the ball over Lehmann to put Inter ahead after 21 minutes but if that was bad enough for Arsenal, far worse was to follow.

Just four minutes later, Kily Gonzalez capitalised on indecision down Arsenal’s right.

And when Campbell could only flick his cross to the edge of the penalty area, Andy van der Meyde let fly with a volley that Lehmann could only push inside his own post.

Toure thwarted Martins as he raced clear once again, but Arsenal wasted a lifeline after Ljungberg had been pushed over by former Everton defender Marco Materazzi.

Henry’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Francesco Toldo as he stroked the ball towards the right-hand upright, while Gilberto headed wide from a corner soon afterwards.

With Cole continually giving away the ball and Robert Pires just as easily being brushed aside, the home side’s task was only magnified.

Finally, Martins got his own name on the scoresheet and not before time.

His sublime turn left the shell-shocked Arsenal defence rooted to the spot as he capitalised on Emre’s neat pass and finished past Lehmann just before the break.

While Arsenal did dominate possession after the interval, it was mainly because Inter were happy to sit back on their lead and show off their own supreme defensive skills.

With Javier Zanetti and Fabio Cannavaro in sterling form, Wenger’s response was to throw on both Dennis Bergkamp and Kanu for Gilberto Silva and the ineffective Robert Pires.

It made precious little difference as one effort by Henry was tipped over the crossbar by Toldo, who also managed to deny Kanu from just six yards out.

As Arsenal pressed forward, meanwhile, so Inter counter-attacked, with Cole surviving a penalty appeal against him, while Lehmann just managed to save Cruz’s curling free-kick.

That Inter did not score again was, indeed, more by luck than judgment as substitute Mohamed Kallon hit the inside of the post with the goal at his mercy.

Even more worryingly though, there is no respite for Arsenal now. Their next stop? Old Trafford on Sunday.