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Confirmed Arsenal Team to face Athletic in UCL Opener – Rice returns, Mosquera for Saliba

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

The Arsenal squad are in Spain this evening, to take on Athletic Club in their UEFA Champions League 2025/26 opener. The match will kick-off at 17:45PM UK in Estadio de San Mamés in Bilbao.

The Gunners take on Athletic Club for the first time in a competitive game when they clash tonight. The most recent meeting between these two ended in a 3-0 win for Arsenal in a pre-season friendly, played just before the start of the new campaign, when Arsenal won the Emirates Cup fixture. Todays match promises to be a fascinating contest with Athletic appearing in the Champions League for the first time since 2014, and the Gunners hungry for European success this season.

Here is the the Confirmed Arsenal Team for tonight’s fixture:

COYG!

Michelle M

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61 Comments

  2. Almost the “Liverpool” team that was lambasted to no end
    I hope this one will achieve a different result.

  8. Boring line up.Arsenal will lose plenty of games and many draws with that line up.That is the midfield trio of merino,zubimendi and Rice.No creativity

    1. Outside of Merino vs Nwaneri, how is the line up boring. Are there any other changes you want from those not starting?

  9. Merino is playing because Odegaard is injured.

    I guess Arteta does not want to put too much pressure on Nwaneri by starting him in a Champions League match.

    Hopefully we get creativity from Eze, Madueke.

  10. Merino is starting because lets face it, hes been much bigger goal threat than Ödegaard for awhile.

    Damn look at our bench.. how insane is it to look at our starting XI, our bench and STILL have Dowman there? This is a compliment for him, hes a real special talent.

  12. I see Williams made it then?
    Good to see Saliba on the bench and Gabriel with the captains armband.
    Let’s see what unfolds COYG.

    1. Agree, Declan needs to be taken off now, at the half. Timber appears to be the only outfield player up for the task so far. He’s literally playing his boots off.

  14. Can somebody please tell Madueke to cross the ball. He’s holding too long to it for my liking

    2. I told my brother after last match against Nottingham – though everybody’s hailing there’s a fault in his game

      Most of those dribbles weren’t needed

      He doesn’t know how to play with his team mates – it’s easier to create goal scoring chances that why than going alone on your own everytime – dribbling the defender – then what ?

      No more composure to release an accurate pass or score it yourself

  15. Too slow build up and sloppy from Calafiori and Rice. Arteta needs to change this, slow, keep possession based style, away from home. It has to be quicker and more progressive.

    1. They’re a tough team – clever players and physically quite strong. Think we should take rice off due to the card situation. Bilbao will happily get him a second yellow if they can

  17. I wonder when Arteta will learn

    That it’s an away game doesn’t mean you should set us up to not be able to play

    Merino is on a fine form but he just doesn’t know what the role of AM entails – so we just can’t link the defensive players to the attacking players

    We can’t create
    Yes we’ll be on the backfoot since it’s an away game but with the right setup – we can create things with just 3/4/5 passes

    That way we’ll even be happy to give them the ball
    But without an AM we don’t know how to create things talk less of creating quickly so we are dispossessed again and find ourselves just defending all through

      1. Why ?

        Did my thoughts say we can’t win

        Is this the Arsenal way of playing you watch today ?

        Did our football flow like it used to ?

        Did this match show you that Merino in the AM is a good thing to keeping trying

      2. Trossard in the midfield created our first goal

        Doesn’t that prove what I was saying

        Merino doesn’t know that role

        1. Trossard was in the CF role when he made the assist for Martinelli. Merino was doing what a midfielder should be doing, he was further back defending.

      3. I also said “with the right setup we can create something with just 3/4/5 passes”

        Isn’t that exactly how our first goal came ?

        Just 2/3 passes and Martinelli already through on goal

        The players for AM roles in our squad are : Odegaard – Eze – Trossard – Nwaneri

  18. Trossard on for Merino early hopefully

    Much like Havertz, Merino was signed as a midfielder but seems to disrupt our flow when playing in the position he was signed for and seems like MA is trying to force it

    Nothing against Merino at all but something isnt clicking so far when he plays midfield

  19. This could hopefully turn out to be a good point (but preferably three points) against a very good team.

      1. 🤣🤣🤣 amusing that you think getting the ball up the field as fast as possible is actually our plan B….that is never the plan

        More like a happy accident 🤣

      1. Martinelli is our secret weapon. Remember Guilly of Barcelona. Martinelli should function as super sup. And when Leo come in, he drops deep and gets involved in the build up. Gyokers is not that good technically. I am confident that G.Jesus will be great in this team. It is very difficult to perform at high level when you do not have rythm. Masqura is giving saliba a hard time. Hiw can you drop him vs city?

    1. What a footballing brain by Martinelli Reggie!!
      Just jesting and I agree, what great substitutions.

    1. What’s good is there is now serious competition for places !

      Trossachs and Martinelli have been used to starting so now coming off the bench they need to make an impact …and not did they!

      Again for our fans….why are we always so negative. Stats show 63%possession, 11 shorts with 6 on target and 2 scored !

      It’s an away game in CL. Since when did we become entitled to think we.shoukd blow away every team!

      3 points…. and let’s focus on Citeh and give them a good thrashing like last season

  29. A battling performance by The Arsenal. Great subs by the manager. An assist by Trossard resulting in the goal by Martinelli, who then repaid Trossard with an assist for his goal.

    Love the strength in depth we have this season.

  31. I suppose Trossard will be expecting another pay rise now. 🙄 Just kidding, honest. 😂

    Well done boys on a good solid win. 👍

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