Hey, Arteta, you can count on us! Spaniard's perfect subs launch Arsenal past Bilbao

A terrific start to the new Champions League season for Arsenal and even better for Mikel Arteta and his subs!

The Gunners tried to "break" fiery Athletic Bilbao for 70 minutes, but then the Basque sent his "lethal duo" to the pitch, and they sealed the deal in 15 minutes.

First, in the 72nd minute - just a minute after replacing Viktor Gyokeres - Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock following a perfect pass of Leandro Trossard, who had entered just six minutes before the Brazilian!

A quarter of an hour later, the duo switched their roles! The Belgian confirmed Arsenal's triumph to Martinelli's assist and completed the Gunners' perfect night in Spain. At the same time, the two showed that Arteta can still count on them.

Despite the slight role of underdog ahead of this clash, Bilbao dominated the opening quarter of an hour, not giving Arsenal a chance to attack. Nevertheless, their pressure didn't bring anything concrete, and the visitors had the first chances in the game.

Twenty-four minutes into the game, Viktor Gyokeres wasted a decent opportunity, shooting straight into Unai Simon's hands following a solo run. Two minutes later, the Swede attempted to break the deadlock with a fantastic diving header after Jurrien Timber's cross, but his effort went narrowly wide of the right post.

However, after 20 minutes of "peace" on the pitch, Bilbao could have stunned the visitors just ahead of the break, but Alex Berenguer shot it wide of David Raya's left post from inside the area.

In a firm full of Arsenal fans, you can reject a Spurs applicant

Since the beginning of the second half, the home team's left defensive side started succumbing under Noni Madueke's pressure, but the Englishman initially failed to make his terrific solo runs count and turn them into something concrete. On the other hand, Inaki Williams threatened in the 58th minute, but gave an easy task to Raya.

Unfortunately for the Gunners, Gyokeres was forced to leave the pitch in the 65th minute and leave his place to Leandro Trossard, as he had suffered a head injury after a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes midway through the first half.

Six minutes later, Mikel Arteta subbed in Gabriel Martinelli for Eberechi Eze and the Brazilian opened the scoring less than a minute after stepping on the pitch! And after Trossard's assist!

Fifteen minutes later, the duo switched roles, as the Gunners #11 made a superb cross and set the perfect chance for the Belgian, who didn't miss!

The La Liga side failed to bounce back after this 15-minute blitzkrieg and the Gunners noted a vital victory on the road and started the new UCL campaign the way they imagined.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1

Tuesday

Athletic Bilbao - Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)

/Martinelli 72, Trossard 87/

PSV - St. Gilloise 1-3 (0-2)

/Van Bommel 90 - David 9 pen, Ait El Hadj 39, Mac Allister 81/

22.00: (1.22) Benfica (6.50) Qarabag (13.0)

22.00: (2.05) Juventus (3.50) Dortmund (3.90)

22.00: (1.40) Real Madrid (5.40) Olympique Marseille (7.50)

22.00: (1.90) Tottenham (3.85) Villareal (4.10)

Wednesday

19.45: (1.45) Olympiakos (4.40) Paphos (7.50)

19.45: (1.85) Slavia Praha (3.60) Bodo (4.30)

22.00: (4.10) Ajax (3.50) Inter (1.90)

22.00: (1.67) Bayern (4.25) Chelsea (4.85)

22.00: (1.62) Liverpool (3.90) Atl.Madrid (5.60)

22.00: (1.50) PSG (4.50) Atalanta (7.25)

Thursday

19.45: (2.80) Club Brugge (3.40) Monaco (2.50)

19.45: (3.20) Copenhagen (3.40) Leverkusen (2.25)

22.00: (2.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.50) Galatasaray (3.40)

22.00: (1.70) Man.City (3.60) Napoli (5.30)

22.00: (3.15) Newcastle (3.50) Barcelona (2.20)

22.00: (1.08) Sporting (12.0) Kairat Almaty (25.0)

***odds are subject to change***