In the 7th matchday of the Champions League league phase, Inter Milan lost 1-3 at home to Arsenal. After the match, Inter head coach Chivu spoke to Amazon Prime Video.
It was a tough night for you—how would you summarize your team’s performance?
It was certainly a difficult night in terms of the result. We tried to keep the game under control and played our football, especially in the first half. When the score was 1-1, we actually created some good chances but couldn’t convert them to take the lead. Then came that corner kick—the ball hit the crossbar and bounced into the net. In the second half, we still gave everything we had, but after their substitutions, their quality, speed, intensity, and physicality caused us serious problems.
Did Arsenal surprise you in any way tonight?
Not at all. They didn’t surprise me in the slightest. We knew very well before the match that this is currently the best-performing team in the Premier League and one of the best in Europe. They’re unbeaten and top of the table, so we were fully aware this would be an extremely difficult game. We also understood just how strong they are and how deep their squad is. We tried to play our game and hoped to get something out of it, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
Arsenal have now won seven straight matches in the Champions League and are showing remarkable consistency. Do you think their current squad depth puts them among the leaders in Europe?
In my personal view, as I said yesterday, Arsenal and Bayern Munich are the two teams in the best form right now. However, a lot can happen starting from March. The Champions League has always been a very special competition, and ultimately, everything depends on your form when the knockout stage arrives.
Of course, you still hope to finish in the top eight. Given the situation, next week’s away match against Borussia Dortmund is almost a must-win. How do you see it?
Right now, we still need to wait for the results of tomorrow’s other matches to see exactly where we stand in the standings and then do the calculations. At this moment, I can’t give a definitive answer. Every time we step onto the pitch, our goal is always to win, to give our best, and to keep building on the progress we’ve made recently. Whatever happens, we’ll keep moving forward. Even if it means going through a playoff, that’s not a problem—we’re already used to playing extra matches.