Fresh off of a commanding 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at home in the Premier League, Arsenal’s Champions League campaign kicks off as the Gunners head to the Basque region to take on Athletic Club for the first match of the Champions League groups stage.
After early questions were asked about the Gunners following an uneven opening three league matches, they returned from the international break looking better than they have all season. The Gunners looked complete from front to back despite a slew
of missing players, and you would be hard pressed to find any fault in their performance.
Three days later, they will look to continue that top form with the Champions League league stage kicking off. Last season’s emphatic CL run had them on the doorstep of a European final, only to lose to eventual champions Paris St. Germaine in the semifinals. Much like last season, they were without several big names, but this season, the depth looks to be greatly improved.
After a quarterfinal exit the year before and a seminal exit last season, can the Gunners finally reach the summit of the one competition that has eluded them for so long?
Here are three talking points ahead of Tuesday’s match:
Know the Enemy
Every once in a while, Arsenal draw a team that they have no previous history against. This season, it is Athletic Club, aka Athletic Bilbao, from La Liga. Despite besting them 3-0 over the summer, Tuesday’s fixture marks the first time both clubs have faced off in competitive play. The longtime La Liga stalwart currently sit 4th in the La Liga table after 4 matches played.
The Spanish club is an interesting one, largely due to their famous policy of only signing players either born in or developed in the Basque region. With such a limited pool to select from, they have done surprisingly well, as they are the 4th most successful club in La Liga history. In general, their history is incredibly interesting and worth a read on the club Wikipedia page. Did you know that they traditionally celebrate cup victories with a barge celebration? Well, you do now.
That success, though, has largely come in the distant past. The last of their eight league titles was won in the 1983-84 season with the bulk of them coming in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. In the past 30 years, they have only earned 3 trophies, with their most recent silverware from winning the 2023-24 Copa Del Rey.
Stylistically, they are a high-intensity side that presses aggressively and look to hit on the counter. Playing out of 4-2-3-1 formation, they play a compact defense that doesn’t concede many goals domestically. In Europe, however, they have difficulty against English sides, as evidenced by the 7 goals they shipped to a historically bad Manchester United side in their two Europa League quarterfinal ties last season. In total, their record against English sides through 20 European matches is 6 wins, 4 draws, and 10 losses.
They are not a club to be overlooked. Replete with a few noticeable names, including Spanish no. 1 Unai Simon, Aymeric Laporte, Oihan Sancet, and the Williams brothers, Iñaki and Nico, they have talent across the pitch and will look to take advantage of the home atmosphere in their first Champions League tie in over a decade, having last played in the 2014/15 season.
Nico Williams is the name most Arsenal fans will be familiar with when he was high on Arsenal’s (and many other clubs’) wishlist over the summer before opting to extend with his boyhood club. Unfortunately for him, he looks likely to miss a chance to show out against Arsenal after suffering a hip injury during the international break that forced him to miss Bilbao’s 0-1 loss to Alaves on the weekend.
Injuries & Suspensions
Martin Ødegaard can’t catch a break. Immediately after returning from a strong international break, he took another hard fall on the same shoulder that saw him make an early exit against Leeds on match day 2. With no prognosis yet, it’s hard to say how long he will remain out for this time, but you can’t imagine he will be back three days after sustaining his injury.
Bukayo Saka and William Saliba continue to make progress toward returning to action, with Saliba possibly being available for Tuesday after missing out on the weekend for precautionary reasons.
OUT: Bukayo Saka (hamstring), William Saliba (ankle), Kai Havertz (knee), Gabriel Jesus (ACL), Martin Ødegaard (shoulder).
Predicted Lineup
Attack: Eze, Gyökeres, Madueke
Run it back.
Saturday saw Arteta roll out an attacking lineup of new signings that looked refreshingly sharp on their first time starting together. While Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres had goal contributions, it was Noni Madueke who once again stole the show. In Bukayo Saka’s absence, he has been defying every early doubter with electric performances on the right wing. It’s a shame he didn’t end the match with a goal or assist, but he will have another chance on Tuesday. Eze and Gyökeres’ chemistry grew as the match wore on, with Eze providing the assist for Viktor’s 2nd half goal.
Midfield: Rice, Zubimendi, Merino
Three DMs?! Oh, the horror!
Rage bait aside, the safe bet to replace Martin Ødegaard is Mikel Merino. Despite Ethan Nwaneri’s solid performance in Ødegaard’s stead, Merino’s experience and familiarity playing against Bilbao will likely give him the edge. He’s also in fine form, nearly finding the net on Saturday. Like Merino, Martin Zubimendi’s familiarity with the opposition will hopefully pay dividends after a brilliant brace on the weekend. Both players will see this as a sort of homecoming, returning to the Basque region from which they hail. Declan Rice was given a breather against Forest and came off the bench with the match well in hand.
Defense: Calafiori, Gabriel, Mosquera, Timber
Another match, another comfortable clean sheet.
Arsenal’s defensive depth is the envy of just about every other club in the world, and it showed on Saturday. They were rarely tested, and when they were, they snuffed out every attack before it had a chance to develop. Cristhian Mosquera made his first start and was as solid as you could have asked for. Another player with La Liga experience, he will likely be called upon should Saliba still be returning to fitness. The rest of the defense pencils themselves into the starting XI at the moment.
Keeper: Raya
David Raya had little to do outside of an acrobatic finger-tip save on a deflected shot off of Chris Woods’ chest. Still, in that moment he reminded us just how good he is in nervy moments. His reflexes are something else.
One area that has seen the most growth in Mikel Arteta’s young career as manager has been his success in European ties. Last season, Arsenal finished the league stage 3rd with a very robust 6-1-1 record before amassing 4 more wins ahead of the semifinals. A top 8 finish in the league stage kept them from a 2-leg playoff round, which is the goal again this season. After two seasons of Champions League experience, and with a greatly improved squad, the chance to make the leap is better than ever. And it all starts on Tuesday.
WHO: Arsenal at Athletic Club
WHAT: Champions League league stage match day 1
WHEN: Tuesday, September 16th, 12:45pm EST/9:45am PST/5:45pm GMT
WHERE: Estadio San Mámes, Bilbao, Spain
HOW TO WATCH: Streaming on Paramount+
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