Morning.
Our Champions League campaign kicks off this evening with a first ever competitive meeting with Athletic Club. We beat them 3-0 in pre-season, but this is a different thing altogether, not least because we’re away from home this time.
The team news is that Martin Odegaard didn’t make the trip after injuring his shoulder again at the weekend, while Ben White is also absent. I would have had him pencilled in to start this one if he’d been available, and I wonder with William Saliba back we might see Cristhian Mosquera start at right-back to give a bit of rest to Jurrien Timber. I think we’ll see Myles Lewis-Skelly come into the team on the other side.
In midfield, I hope it’s Ethan Nwaneri to fill in for the captain, with Declan Rice returning, and that would leave Mikel Merino as the Viktor Gyokeres alternative if we want to make a change up front later in the game. Then again, away from home and in the Basque country, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the former Real Sociedad man got the nod because of his experience.
On paper, I don’t think I’d change anything about the front three after they contributed so well against Nottingham Forest, but maybe Mikel Arteta will have half an eye on Sunday and Man City, as well as trying to keep players happy. If there was a start for Leandro Trossard on the left, I wouldn’t be at all shocked. Otherwise, you’re looking for Noni Madueke to terrorise their left-back like he did against Forest, and if the Eze/Gyokeres connection grows again, then that’s no bad thing.
As for Athletic Club, they won their first three games of the season before a 1-0 defeat to Alaves at the weekend blotted their copybook a bit. I don’t think I’d use that as any marker of form though, and back in the Champions League after 11 years, they’ll certainly be up for this one. And while Arteta is back in his home region of Spain, there’s a rivalry between Real Sociedad, where he began his career, and tonight’s opposition that will add a little spice to proceedings. Not forgetting we also have Martin Zubimendi and the aforementioned Merino in the squad.
Arteta says:
We landed in Bilbao, that’s normally where I land when I go back home to San Sebastian, it’s an hour’s drive from there. All my family is from there, and you just sense the passion, the rivalry, the football atmosphere. It’s great to be here – I’ve never been in this stadium before, so it’s a good experience.
We’re excited to start again from scratch in a beautiful place, in a stadium that is going to generate something special. We’re looking forward to that and I’m very excited again to step by step build some momentum, and start to have some wins.
So, an exciting way to begin our European season, and I’m really looking forward being at the game later. Hopefully I’ll bump into some of you who have made the trip, and let’s hope we can get the right result.
We will, as ever, have live blog coverage for you this evening – remember it’s a 17.45 kick-off UK time – and all the usual stuff on Arseblog News. I’ll leave it there for now, have a good one!