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Arsenal begin their quest for a long-awaited first Champions League title today with a trip to Athletic Club in Bilbao.
The two sides meet in matchday 1 of the group phase of the Champions League at the impressive San Mames Stadium.
Athletic Club reached last season’s Europa League semi-final while Arsenal went out at the same stage in the Champions League.
As we mentioned earlier, just the one change for Arsenal — Declan Rice replacing injured Martin Odegaard — and Arteta was asked about why he only made a single change in a pre-match chat with TNT Sports.
💬 “Because of the availability of certain players and because they are in good form. It's a very important match — our first of this season's Champions League and we're looking forward to it.
“(Mosquera) did well and Willy (Saliba) hasn't trained since the Liverpool game. It will be good to introduce him at some point.”
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While their wait for a maiden Champions League title has gone on, Arsenal have been one of the most consistent performers in this competition over the last couple of years.
And that form has been particularly impressive in the group/league phase as only Real Madrid (33) have accumulated more than the 32 points picked up by Arsenal across the previous two campaigns.
Need a reminder of Arsenal’s Champions League fixtures in the league phase? Here you go:
And sporting a lovely maroon tracksuit, as modelled by Myles Lewis-Skelly, too.
Just the one change for Arsenal from the weekend's win over Nottingham Forest, with Declan Rice returning to the starting lineup.
Mikel Arteta opting against more changes today shouldn't be too surprising. In the last couple of seasons, he has tended to make about three or four changes between Premier League and Champions League games.
With this being matchday one, and there being five days until the Manchester City game, there isn't a massive need to rotate. Arteta will hope the momentum gained in that Forest win carries through into Arsenal's performance tonight, to build even more form ahead of that clash with City.
And here are the possible game changers for the home side…
Athletic Club subs: Santos, Padilla, Guruzeta, Areso, Lekue, Galarreta, Yuri, Unai G., Maroan, Nico Serrano, Rego, Jon De Luis.
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Here’s how Arsenal’s bench looks…
And here’s the starting team for the hosts Athletic Club.
We are not too far away from kick-off now and we know how Arsenal will line up.
The one thing we do get from this newer Champions League format is teams meeting for the first time — and that is exactly what we have got today.
Arsenal and Athletic Club have never faced before in European competition. In fact, it is just the time the Spaniards have met an English club in the Champions League (formerly European Cup).
They were beaten by Manchester United in the quarter-final in 1957 and then Liverpool in the last 16 in 1984.
Arsenal will be able to field all eight of their major summer signings in this season’s Champions League.
In order to facilitate that, academy products like Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have been named in their List B squad (for UEFA-defined homegrown players).
By a quirk of the rules, Max Dowman does not qualify for List B, so he has been selected on List A. If he figures for Arsenal in any of their group stage games before the turn of the year, he will become the youngest player in Champions League history.
Arsenal have also selected Kai Havertz in List A, a clear sign of their faith that the striker’s return is not too far away. Gabriel Jesus, however, misses out.
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We are not too far away from team news now, so let’s remind ourselves of the players included — and omitted — from Arsenal’s Champions League squad:
Players left out: Gabriel Jesus
“You can sense that there are new relationships flourishing there that are going to give us different things to become more unpredictable.”
That was the verdict of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta at the weekend after his side’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Chief among them, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera, who impressed in the win.
Will we see Athletic Club’s star man Nico Williams today?
He is a doubt after sustaining a thigh injury on international duty. Williams, 23, was forced off after 44 minutes during Spain’s World Cup qualifying victory over Turkey on September 7.
Williams was the subject of interest from Barcelona for a second successive summer window and had verbally agreed personal terms with the Spanish champions, before the transfer collapsed. The winger wanted an exit clause inserted into his contract in case Barcelona could not register him, the Catalan club refused, and he subsequently signed a new at Athletic through to 2035.
Can Arsenal finally pick up some silverware under Mikel Arteta this season with a strong local contingent in their side?
Against a backdrop of shrinking representation from local players, Arsenal rank among the best Premier League sides for including “local” players in their squad — defined by The Athletic liberally as having been brought up in the same city, county, or within roughly a 45-minute drive.
Does it matter? To fans, yes. And, increasingly, it is important for PSR purposes. Check out the link below to read more.
GO FURTHER
How many local players each Premier League team has – and why they’re on the decline
This will be the first time any European country has had more than five clubs competing in the Champions League at one time. Five clubs — Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United — qualified through league position and Tottenham Hotspur won the 2024-25 Europa League for their berth.
While they will not be allowed to meet in the league phase, they can be drawn against each other in the knockouts.
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Rewind two years and Mikel Arteta was under considerable pressure for signing David Raya on loan when the public consensus was that he had a more than capable No 1 in Aaron Ramsdale. That pressure mounted in Raya’s early days in north London as he took time to settle, but the Spain international seemed at home by the end of his debut season.
His penalty shootout heroics against Porto in the 2023-24 season were his lift-off moment, but the consistency the 30-year-old has shown since then has been exceptional.
Two years, 100 games and 42 clean sheets on from signing, there is no doubt that Arteta made the right call.
GO FURTHER
David Raya’s Arsenal arrival sparked debate. 100 games later, he is vital for Mikel Arteta’s side
Athletic Club had a boost late last week after they finally signed Aymeric Laporte from Al Nassr after not completing the deal during the summer transfer window.
Laporte has signed a contract until 2028 with the La Liga side.
Athletic initially had issues registering Laporte but eventually saw those concluded to bring the defender back to the club. The 31-year-old made 222 appearances for Athletic during his first spell of around six years.
The first matchweek of this season's Champions League concludes with six more games on Thursday evening, all kicking off at 8pm BST, 3pm ET unless specified.
