Key events
FULL TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
A winâs a winâs a win, ainât that the truth.
90 min +6: Pedro Henrique slides in hysterically on Havertz, who was thinking about taking the ball to the corner flag, but now wisely leaps out of the way. No contact, but Pedro Henrique deserves his booking nonetheless.
90 min +5: The clock ticks on, and it looks like Arsenal have done enough. Just.
90 min +4: Kryskiv dinks a cross in from the right. Gomes rises highest, six yards out, but can only flap a shoulder at the ball, which loops high before being claimed by Raya. Arsenal are hanging on. How did it come to this?
90 min +3: Shakhtar are pushing Arsenal back. Home nerves crackle around the stadium.
90 min +2: Shakhtar get a shot on target here all right. Pedrinho pearls a dipping screamer towards the bottom right from the edge of the box, and Raya is forced into full-stretch action to turn around the post. Nothing comes of the corner, but Arsenal hearts were in mouths there.
90 min +1: The first of six additional minutes is played out in the drama-free style.
90 min: A reverse of roles as Martinelli swings long from the left for Rice, who extends a leg to poke towards the bottom right. Thereâs no pace on the redirection, and itâs an easy snaffle for Riznyk.
89 min: A gift of a corner for Arsenal down the right. Rice sends it long. Konoplia heads clear under pressure from Martinelli.
88 min: Jorginho, who like Kai Havertz won this tournament with Chelsea in 2021, replaces Leandro Trossard.
87 min: Marlon Gomes comes on for Artem Bondarenko.
86 min: On the touchline, Mikel Arteta looks concerned. His team are labouring.
84 min: Eguinaldo makes way for Lassina Traoré. Then Martinelli is booked for flapping an arm across Konopliaâs startled coupon.
83 min: Matviyenko romps into space down the left. He feeds Pedro Henrique on the overlap. Pedro Henriqueâs low cross is hit hard but nowhere near a team-mate, allowing Raya to parry clear. Fortunately for Arsenal, the rebound doesnât fall to a black-and-orange shirt.
82 min: Sudakov hoicks a wild shot over the bar from distance. The nerves at the Emirates are palpable. It should never have come to this. So much for a nice calm evening ahead of the incoming Sunday storm.
81 min: Another loose Arsenal pass allows Eguinaldo to launch a counter. But once again he hesitates, allowing the hosts to regroup, and eventually Pedrinho is forced to turn tail.
80 min: For the record, that was Arsenalâs first penalty of the season. Last season, they converted all ten awarded.
79 min: Shakhtar go up the other end, Pedrinho and Bondarenkos shooting from the edge of a packed box. Both efforts are easily blocked, but Arsenal are making a nine-course tasting menu of this. They should be out of sight, but the visitors fancy their chances of snatching a shock equaliser now!
78 min: For a second, it looks as though VAR will dig Trossard out of a hole. A check to see if the keeper had moved off his line. But his back foot was still on the white stuff when Trossard made connection. The saveâs a good one!
77 min: Trossard misses the penalty! He slams the spot kick straight down the middle, but Riznyk, who had dived to his left, whips the ball away with a trailing leg!
Penalty for Arsenal!
76 min: Yep, itâs a penalty. Bondar had his arm outstretched, away from his body, and there was plenty of time for him to get it out of the way. The referee points to the spot. Trossard to take.
75 min: Before the cornerâs taken, VAR takes a look at a potential handball. Seems Merinoâs cross pinged off Bondarâs right arm. The refâs asked over to the screen.
74 min: Merino looks for Trossard with a low cross from the left. He doesnât find his man, but does earn a corner. Time for one of Arsenalâs specialist routines?
73 min: Sterling and Havertz attempt to one-two their way down the right, but the move breaks down. Arsenal are making hard work of this.
72 min: Here comes the de-jewelled Lewis-Skelly.
71 min: Well, I say Lewis-Skelly comes on in his place. Heâs stopped by the fourth official and told to take off a dangling earring. Heâs not on yet.
70 min: Calafiori slipped while being brushed off the ball by Eguinaldo, and looks to have tweaked something. He goes down a couple of times, then Myles Lewis-Skelly comes on in his place.
69 min: Sterling gets involved immediately, only to dribble his way down a blind alley on the right.
68 min: Gabriel Jesus, now 23 games without a goal, is replaced by Raheem Sterling.
66 min: Eguinaldo brushes Calafiori off the ball with absurd ease, and suddenly theyâre three on two. But they dither and over-elaborate, and finally Pedrinho charges into Merino, and the whistle offers Arsenal relief. The home side have got really slack, and got away with a huge mistake there. A better, more confident team would have equalised.
65 min: Arsenal slow things down with some of the old sterile domination.
64 min: A double change by Donetsk, as Oleksandr Zubkov and Danylo Sikan make way for Pedrinho and the exotically named Kevin.
63 min: Zubkov jinks his way down the right and wins a corner of Martinelli. He takes it himself. Itâs easily cleared, but Arsenal are getting sloppy here.
61 min: Arsenal sit off, allowing Matviyenko to drive purposefully down the inside-left channel. The hosts are fortunate the Shakhtar captainâs low cross is aimless. Arsenal have slipped into snooze mode, with the crowdâs âCome on Arsenalâ chant having little effect on their heroes.
59 min: Sudakov crosses low from the right. Zubkov attempts an elaborate flick when a bog-standard belt might have been more appropriate. Arsenal suddenly look a little ragged, and Mikel Arteta orders a few of his subs to warm up.
57 min: A careless misplaced pass by Merino on the edge of his own box is snaffled by Eguinaldo, who takes a whack goalwards. That might count as the third on-target effort of their campaign. Itâs deflected high into the air by Gabriel and Raya plucks the dropping ball from the sky. A stark reminder that for all Arsenalâs dominance, and their constant chance creation, the hosts are still just the one goal up.
55 min: Trossard opens his legs to advance down the left channel before whistling a low drive inches wide of the left-hand post. The keeper had it covered.
54 min: Riznyk does much better here, parrying Martinelliâs sweep from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. The save leads to a corner. Nothing comes of the resulting set piece.
53 min: Riznyk, the ball at his feet, dithers and allows Martinelli to close him down. The keeper does just enough to retain possession and hoick out for a throw, but heâs sailing close to the wind. Unlucky for the opener, but a goal there, and that would have been his fault.
51 min: Sudakov slips a clever ball down the inside-left channel for Zubkov, who turns to make space to shoot from the corner of the D. But Zubkov opts to roll a pass further down the channel in the hope of releasing Eguinaldo, and the ball trundles out for a goal kick. What a waste. Shakhtarâs impotency writ large.
49 min: Another goal for Arsenal, and thereâs a fair chance Mikel Arteta might dip into his bench. Shakhtar arenât threatening to score one, never mind two, and thereâs that big game looming on Sunday. A chance to give some big names a rest may be grabbed with both hands.
47 min: Martinelli floats a deep cross in from the left. Trossard eyebrows it towards the far corner, but itâs always heading wide. Havertz telescopes a leg but canât connect to poke home.
Arsenal get the second half underway. Ben White, on a booking, is hooked in favour of Mikel Merino. Probably wise, given Arsenalâs recent red-card woes, and the fact that White had also clipped Eguinaldo from behind and was probably chugging in the last-chance saloon.
Half-time entertainment. Featuring Arsenalâs first tentative steps in the post-Eidevall era.
HALF TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Dmytro Riznykâs unfortunate own goal is the difference ⦠but Arsenal are well worth their lead. Theyâll doubtless think they should have had a couple more.
45 min: There will be one additional minute.
44 min: A basketball game suddenly breaks out. Jesus wins the ball on the edge of the Shakhtar D. He lays off to Trossard, who finds Havertz, who in turn flicks back to Jesus, down the right-hand channel. Jesus should score, breaking his 22-game drought, but his diagonal shot towards the bottom left is kicked away. The visitors break upfield, where Eguinaldo glides in from the left before ballooning a wild shot high and wide right. Shakhtar still on two on-target efforts for their Champions League campaign. But theyâre getting closer. Hey, itâs all relative.
43 min: Arsenal continue to stroke it around in the patient style. Theyâre in the lead, and in control, thereâs no need to push it.
41 min: Thereâs a case to be made that Matviyenkoâs clearing kick was dangerously high, but youâd need a heart of stone ⦠or be an Arsenal supporter ⦠to deny Shakhtar the benefit of the decision. It was great play all round.
39 min: Martinelli crosses deep from the left. Jesus heads it back across goal, teeing up Havertz, a couple of yards out and with the keeper out of position, having chased after the initial cross. Havertz is surely destined to score ⦠and yet he doesnât, because Matviyenko hooks clear, taking the ball off the strikerâs eyebrow. What a last-ditch intervention!
38 min: A case in point: Sudakov advances down the right but thereâs only Sikan in the middle to aim a cross at, and heâs surrounded by defenders. Sudakov swings it in anyway, and itâs an easy catch for Raya. Still just the two efforts on target, then.
37 min: Shakhtar are playing pretty well. Some crisp passing, a strong press ⦠but it all falls down in the final third, where theyâre achieving nothing. By all accounts, theyâve only had two efforts on target in their entire Champions League campaign so far.
35 min: That aforementioned Rice cross on 32 minutes ⦠Iâve undersold Riznykâs involvement. The ball was deflected and the keeper still managed to sweep it clear with Havertz lurking. Good to see the own goal hasnât addled his head.
34 min: White goes into the book for a cynical tug on Eguinaldoâs shoulder.
32 min: Arsenalâs tails are up now. Rice crosses low from the left. Havertz canât connect to bundle home from close range. The visitors clear their lines.
31 min: Uefa had initially given that goal to Martinelli, but the decision was never likely to stand. Itâs the unfortunate Riznykâs all right. His team-mates make a point of geeing him up. He couldnât do much about it.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Shakhtar (Riznyk og 29)
Rice clips a pass down the left for Martinelli. He cuts into the box, twists Konopliaâs blood, then pings a low shot off the base of the left-hand post. The ball rebounds onto Riznykâs back and in. Unlucky for the keeper, especially as Martinelliâs initial shot took a little deflection en route.