Key occasions
25 min: Advancing on objective with the ball at his ft, Gyokeres is pressured away from objective by a defender and may solely ship a weak shot straight at Unai Simon within the Athletic objective.
23 min: Good work from Gabriel permits Madueke to tug the ball again from the byline and tee up Eberechi Eze. The Champions League debutant shapes to tug the set off however is denied by an necessary block from Gorosabel. He ought to have scored.
20 min: Noni Madueka cuts inside from the correct and tries and fails to wriggle in alongside the byline behind Andoni Gorosabel. The Athletic defender is having none of it and holds the Arsenal winger off.
19 min: Athletic free-kick, about 35 yards from the Arsenal objective for a Mikel Merino foul. The ball is floated into the penalty space however drifts straight into the ready gloves of David Raya.
17 min: A heavy contact from Declan Rice means he has to lunge to win the ball again. He does precisely {that a} split-second earlier than anybody in an Athletic shirt can get to it, in a state of affairs that implies he’s already dwelling on the sting after selecting up his early yellow card. Cautious now, Declan.
15 min: There’s not a substantial amount of curiosity happening on this match but however a tip of the hat to Union St Gilloise striker Promise David, who has scored the primary objective of this season’s Champions League correct from the penalty spot towards PSV Eindhoven.
13 min: Alex Berenguer advances with the ball at his ft after Rice loses possession and wins a nook for Athletic. Nothing comes of the set-piece.
12 min: Athletic hurl a protracted throw into the Arsenal field, the place Cristhian Mosquera heads clear.
11 min: Viktor Gyokeres runs on to a by ball from Rice and squares it nevertheless it’s cleared. The flag goes up for offside however I believe the Swede was being performed on by Aitor Parades. It doesn’t matter.
6 min: Athletic pressure Arsenal into a few necessary blocks earlier than Declan Rice will get booked for a late problem on Mikel Jauregizar that offers the hosts a free-kick in a superb place simply exterior the penalty space. The ball is performed a few ft sideways to Adama Boiro, whose shot in the direction of objective is just not excessive sufficient and blocked by one among his teammates. I’m going to exit on a limb and guess he was presupposed to get out of the best way.
4 min: A low Gabriel go from deep is performed straight to the ft of Aitor Paraedes and Athletic get their first likelihood to interrupt ahead. Riccardo Califiori is pressured to step in and intercept as a low cross is performed inside from the correct in the direction of Alex Berenguer.
2 min: There’s some early whistling from the house crowd as Arsenal hog the ball deep in their very own half, with David Raya and the defenders in entrance of him pinging it round at a tempo that may be finest described as leisurely.
Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal is go …
1 min: Viktor Gyokeres will get the ball rolling for Arsenal, their gamers carrying a change strip of blue shirts, white shorts and white socks. Their hosts are in purple and white striped shirts, black shorts and black socks.
Tonight’s captains: Within the absence of Martin Odegaard, Gabriel skippers the Arsenal facet, whereas Inaki Williams wears the armband for Athletic Bilbao. “Distinctive In The World” reads the banner draped throughout the entrance of the highest tier of 1 stand within the stadium identified domestically as The Cathedral, in what’s presumably a nod to the membership’s “Basques solely” recruitment coverage. In fact, Arsenal have just a few Basques of their very own in Mikel Arteta, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi.
Not lengthy now: Each units of gamers line up within the tunnel of Estadio de San Mames earlier than being led out by Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumsas and his group of match officers. The lengthy and winding street to Budapest begins right here, with simply the 144 Champions League soccer matches to be performed earlier than we even get to first of the knockout levels in February.
Champions League jeopardy (or the dearth thereof): Whereas there’s no purpose tonight’s match shouldn’t be a great one and I admire I’m most likely supposed to speak it up, the brand new and “improved” Champions League format means there’s not a terrific deal at stake at Estadio de San Mames tonight.
When you think about that Paris Saint-Germain drew one and misplaced three of their first 5 video games final season earlier than happening to win the event, either side right here can simply afford to lose with out it costing them a second thought. Is that actually how issues ought to be within the opening matches of Uefa’s flagship membership soccer event?
Mikel Arteta: “We had been very unfortunate”
Throughout his media briefing yesterday, Mikel Arteta mirrored on Arsenal’s run to the semi-finals final season and assessed his facet’s probabilities of truly profitable the Champions League for the primary time. “We had been very unfortunate within the semi-final [against PSG] to not get by,” he mentioned. “You are taking loads of learnings from that. It’s not solely what we really feel however the expectations that now we have created that we are able to go all the best way. We confirmed an excellent stage of consistency to succeed in that.
“We all know it’s going to be a extremely lengthy journey. It’s important to give your self one of the best likelihood to win the sport. We’re ok to compete with any opposition on the day. It’s important to have two issues go your approach – it’s a must to have a have a full squad accessible and must put the ball within the web when probabilities come your approach.”
Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya was put up for interview in Bilbao and requested if Arsenal’s gamers are speaking about the potential for profitable this season’s Champions League. “We’re, now we have perception,” he mentioned. “We need to win, we’re Arsenal and we play to win, little doubt. That’s what we play soccer for. It’s a protracted journey within the Champions League and the Premier League.”
On his Athletic counterpart Unai Simon: “We performed towards one another in pre-season,” he mentioned. “We haven’t talked an excessive amount of about it however as a goalkeeper, there is no such thing as a have to say what I take into consideration him. He’s a tremendous goalkeeper. He’s a assure right here and within the nationwide group.”
Tonight’s match officers
Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal line-ups
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Madueke, Eze, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Setford, Saliba, Hincapie, Martinelli, Norgaard, Trossard, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Athletic Bilbao: Unai Simon, Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Adama, Vesga, Jauregizar, Williams, O. Sancet, Navarro, Berenguer.
Subs: M.Santos, Padilla, Guruzeta, Areso, Lekue, Galarreta, Yuri, Unai G, Maroan, Nico Serrano, Regi, Jon De Luis
The massive interview: Unai Simón
Athletic Membership’s goalkeeper on internet hosting Arsenal within the Champions League, the magic of San Mamés and the way his mum is a daily on Athletic away journeys, even when she will be able to’t bear the stress of watching any of her son’s video games. Our man on the Lezama coaching floor: Sid Lowe.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has mentioned he desires to alter Arsenal’s European fortunes and at last make them a Champion League title, with their semi-final final season offering the proof they’re ok and the ache that might push them a step additional. Sid Lowe reviews from Bilbao …
Arsenal group information
Declan Rice comes into midfield rather than Martin Odegaard in the one change to the line-up that began towards Nottingham Forest. As anticipated, William Saliba begins on the bench, the place younger Max Dowman can also be among the many substitutes. Christian Nogaard can also be within the Arsenal squad, having missed out on Saturday with a knock.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Madueke, Eze, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Setford, Saliba, Hincapie, Martinelli, Norgaard, Trossard, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Arsenal’s league section opponents: Athletic Bilbao (a), Olympiakos (h), Atletico Madrid (h), Slavia Prague (a), Bayern Munich (h), Membership Brugge (a), Inter (a), Kairat Almaty (h).
Athletic Membership’s league section opponents: Arsenal (h), Borussia Dortmund (a), FK Qarabag (h), Newcastle United (a), Slavia Prague (a), Paris Saint-Germain (h), Atalanta (a), Sporting (h).
Factors required: It’s solely a information from a pattern dimension that couldn’t be smaller, however the three lowest ranked groups to qualify for final season’s knockout section playoffs scraped by with 11 factors every from their eight league section video games. A fourth group, Dinamo Zagreb, additionally received 11 factors however missed out on objective distinction.
Aston Villa had been the bottom ranked of the highest eight groups to keep away from a playoff and advance straight to the Spherical of 16. They did so with 16 factors.
Early group information
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White and Kai Havertz stay sidelined for Arsenal, whereas captain Martin Odegaard can also be unavailable after the recurrence of his shoulder harm. William Saliba is within the squad after recovering from the ankle harm that saved him out of Saturday’s match however with an an arguably way more necessary contest to return within the Premier League towards Manchester Metropolis on Sunday, Arteta could not danger the Frenchman, whose substitute Cristhian Mosquera, proved a greater than succesful deputy towards toothless Forest.
Athletic must make do with out their left-winger Nico Williams, a latest Arsenal and Barcelona goal earlier than he signed an eight-year contract extension together with his boyhood membership throughout the summer time. Midfielder Benat Predo and central defender Unai Egiluz are additionally injured.
The Spanish facet’s veteran centre-back, Yeray Alvarez, additionally misses out as he continues a 10-month doping ban after testing optimistic for an unlawful diuretic following his facet’s defeat within the Europa League semi-final final season. Yeray’s suspension has been backdated to June and whereas Uefa accepted that he ingested the banned substance in error by using medicine, he was discovered responsible of committing a “non-intentional anti-doping rule violation” and should serve his time.
Champions League: Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal
Having gone out within the semi-finals to Paris Saint-Germain, the eventual winners, final season, Arsenal kick off their newest Champions League marketing campaign with a go to to Athletic Bilbao. Managed by Ernesto Valverde, in his third spell answerable for the membership he represented 170 instances as a participant, the Basque membership have received their first three video games of the La Liga season however suffered their first reverse on Saturday in defeat at residence to Alaves. They’re competing within the Champions League for the primary time since 2014 and for less than the third time since Uefa pivoted away the old-style knockout European Cup format in 1992. Ah, these had been the times … yells previous man at cloud.
Like their hosts, Arsenal have three wins and one defeat behind them on the home entrance and will scarcely have hoped for a extra simple victory than the one they loved at home to Nottingham Forest three days in the past. Other than dropping Martin Odegaard to a shoulder harm, issues may scarcely have gone extra swimmingly for Mikel Arteta’s facet as they constructed as much as tonight’s match on the San Mames Stadium. Kick-off within the first aggressive match between these sides is at 5.45pm (BST) however we’ll have group information and build-up within the meantime.
