Inter will move on swiftly from their disappointing Champions League defeat to Arsenal ahead of facing Pisa in Serie A on Friday, says forward Marcus Thuram.

The Nerazzurri were beaten 3-1 by Mikel Arteta's Gunners at San Siro on Tuesday, being outclassed after Petar Sucic's piledriver briefly got them level in the first half.

That result represented a huge blow to their hopes of finishing in the top eight and advancing straight to the last 16, with an away win over Borussia Dortmund next week – as well as a few favours from elsewhere – now required. 

Back on the domestic front, Inter lead the way in the Scudetto race, sitting three points clear of Napoli at the summit.

And given they play before their rivals this weekend, Cristian Chivu's side have a chance to – at least temporarily – extend their advantage at the top.

Though acknowledging Tuesday's defeat was a setback, Thuram says Inter's focus was single-minded, saying: "For now, we're focusing on Friday, and then Dortmund will be like a final.

"When you play for Inter, the least you can do is try to go as far as possible in every competition."

Reflecting on the Arsenal loss, Chivu said his team must continue to develop before they can compete with the Premier League's best on a consistent basis.

Chivu said: "The level of technique they showed impressed me compared to other teams – the decision is always the right one, and they have the speed to find a team-mate making a run with a single touch.

"We stayed in the game, and when we won some duels, we created chances. But it down to Arsenal's individual and collective quality. I won't talk about how much they've spent.

"Otherwise I'd sound banal, and I'm not complaining.

"The Premier League is a top league in terms of intensity; we're not yet used to this type of match. I try to pass on a bit more in terms of certain plays to execute on the pitch. But it's not easy.

"We're trying to continue our growth step by step. It's important to maintain the belief that what we’re doing is the right thing."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Inter – Lautaro Martinez

Martinez scored the only goal as Inter defeated Udinese 1-0 in their last Serie A outing. He has been involved in 15 goals in this Serie A season (11 goals, four assists), becoming the first player to record at least 15 in each of the last seven seasons in the competition.

Across the top five European leagues, only four players have achieved this in the period: in addition to the Argentine, they are Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

Pisa – Mehdi Leris 

Leris has provided three assists in Serie A this season, just one less than he did in five Serie A campaigns combined between 2017-18 and 2022-23.

MATCH PREDICTION – INTER WIN

Inter have collected at least 49 points from their first 21 Serie A matches for the fourth time in the last five seasons (also 50 in 2021-22, 54 in 2023-24, 50 in 2024-25).

That is as many times as the Nerazzurri did in the first 27 campaigns of the three-points-for-a-win era.

Chivu's men have also won 16 of their first 21 matches in this Serie A campaign. On the previous five occasions when Inter had more than 15 wins at this stage of a season, they went on to win the Scudetto every time (most recently in 2023-24).

Pisa, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Atalanta last time out in Serie A, but Rafiu Durosinmi's goal in that match was only their second on home soil all season, and their ninth overall this campaign.

Inter's 11 clean sheets in Serie A this season are the most by any side in the competition, so they should be relatively untroubled.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Inter – 77.6%

Pisa – 8.8%

Draw – 13.7%