Arsenal travel to Italy this evening to take on Inter Milan in the Champions League and this is the team that Mikel Arteta has announced.
Arsenal is not in the best shape right now; dropping points in the league does that to you, and facing a team of Inter Milan’s calibre does not make life any easier, especially when you are looking to get back to winning ways. However, it can also be argued that it is far better to face a top-tier team when you need to send a message and rebuild confidence.
Inter is currently second in Serie A and looks set to claim the Scudetto once again, but they also have some issues to contend with, namely their defence, which conceded four goals at home to Juventus recently. However, they have kept two clean sheets in their most recent games against Venezia and Empoli.
It is going to be a very tough game for Arsenal, that is for sure, but the lads have proven themselves against the best opposition regularly, and there is every reason to feel confident of a positive result tonight—but only if they play to their true ability, something they have not been doing recently.
Let us know in the comments below what you think about the team that Arteta has selected and what your predicted score is.
Odegaard is back, finally we will have creativity to a blunted attack.
A fairly strong starting line up. The only concern is why Arteta is sticking with out of form Trossard. Maybe he doesn’t trust the alternatives as a 10
A fairly strong starting line up. The only concern is why Arteta is sticking with out of form Trossard. Maybe he doesn’t trust the alternatives as a 10
Can someone explain why we are sticking with a 442 formation recently? I understand Odegaard is out, Merino doesn’t seem right for the no. 10. But can’t we put trossard there instead of up front with havetz, can we not put havetz there. I don’t understand our form has dipped ever since we’ve adopted this formation.
Let’s just hope Havertz will be playing the proper striker role with Trossard in the number 10 role rather than them interchanging positions, which hasn’t worked in recent games. I wonder if Ødegaard will be risked if needed late on.
Can anyone tell me why Arteta is persistent with Trossard? Zichenko will offer creativity in Odegard’s position than Trossard./Havertz
Arteta will never try that .The whole world knows Zinchenko will offer the team better Service than Trossard in that position.But he believes Zinchenko is a left back and that is it.
“The whole world knows Zinchenko will offer the team better Service than Trossard in that position”.
What has Zinchenko done in that position in his career for you to confidently think so?
I’m happy with the lineup
The defence is fully staffed so Partey can resume playing in the midfield
I’m pleased White is back and hopefully he and Saka work well together again.
Relieved that Odegaard is available for selection at long last and I hope the wounded recover asap
Another strong line up but hopefully a bit more balanced than prevoius couple of games. I hope he doesn’t do the two false 9s trick. It doesn’t work.
Strong lineup
Great to see Odergaard on the bench
COYG
Probably the strongest possible line up, no room for Jesus and the kid
Squeaky bum already!
Great to see Odegaard. Better times ahead.
Since when does ball to hand not count? Crap Euro rules again..
True, but City benefited from that same thing yesterday apparently (although they missed the resulting penalty) so it’s just how things are in the CL.
Not much Arsenal goal threat prior to the penalty. Who’s going to get the goal we need now, I wonder?
What a shame the half ended that way. Maybe there will be a conversation about consistency in Europe with accidental hand ball
We started slower but got back into it. The set pieces haven’t come off and Inter have had their chances.
Never a penalty for me,anytime any day. A blatant error from ref. There is no way someone will play ball to his own.hand when he could have played it out outrightly
The ref has covered more ground the Trossard, he needs to press more and actually break out of a canter and into a sprint, once in a while. He’s hardly burst into a sprint in the first half and when he does, they are quite short and stops after a few strides. We miss Odegaard so badly, his pressing from the front forced the opposition to lose possession, more often and higher up the field.
Merino’s not having much luck. fouled by Sommer at one end and penalised at the other.
…and now substituted.
Only a fool does the same thing over and over and expects different results
-Arteta
We’re about as dangerous as baby in a highchair up front. Not much of a threat really. Still too slownin the build up.
I can see a red card coming with this stupid ref!
Nothing is going for Arsenal this year! Almost a write off year. Better to expose youngsters to give them experience
Nothing happening up top unfortunately
Wow we are pathetic.
Perhaps Nwaneri could have come on a bit earlier. Good effort
I’m sorry Arteta is starting to look like someone who is getting sacked
He’s un-sackable. If he keeps us qualified in the Champions League each season he’ll be safe until he decides to move on himself.
I don’t think so. I doubt they’ll wait until 2027 when Arteta’s new contract expires to get silverware.
The owners will want to add value to the club so they can make a bigger profit when they come to sell it. You do that by winning trophies which not only increases the club’s profile (as it has for City for example) but brings in additional sponsorship that, in turn, increases revenue (as it has for Real Madrid for example).
Really?
What do you base that on?
Calhanoglu comes back after 1 month of injury, plays 70 min and scores the winner. Odergaard subbed in for 5 minutes in injury time, for havertz injury. Men vs boys.
I disagree
It wasn’t the best fixture to start Odegaard
I would have brought on Nwaneri earlier instead of Jesus as he doesn’t look like he suffers from nerves at all.
Maybe not the ideal match for him; but highlighting the difference in attitude from both sets of management. Inzaghi was brave and risked his captain playing, and he scored the winner. Arteta cautious in playing the same old players even if out of form; agree Nwaneri should have been given more of a chance
Some really ridiculous posts asking for Arteta to be sacked 😂
Another disappointing performance overall. Apart from the couple of Havertz chances no real cutting edge (where have we heard that before?) because there’s no “killer striker” there in my opinion. I don’t include Jesus because of the Trades Descriptions Act. I fail to see with every game he plays why he plays.
Things are beginning to take on a worrying momentum now. The only rays of hope are the return of Odegaard generally – and Rice, hopefully, against Chelsea. Arteta needs to do something soon. I’m not sure what, but Arsenal can’t afford another ineffective performance against Chelsea.
Not worth rushing Odegaard so no complaints there. As I pointed out in an earlier thread, Inter aren’t much on paper and were there for the taking had we been good enough. The team obviously lacks thrust, the result of poor recruiting and planning. I agree that we will have more of this type of result with this poorly balanced squad but it is what it is and we have to soldier on, even though it isn’t much fun to watch.
Am I watching a different game?
There was only one team who wanted to play, even before the ludicrous penalty decision and it wasn’t Inter.
The defence looked solid again and Partey was solid in the middle of the park.
Martinelli was much more involved, whereas Trossard was ineffective once again.
Let’s remember that Rice was out and that was yet another kick in the teeth
I can’t remember Raya touching the ball in anger during the last thirty minutes, while Inters defence had to pull off some last ditch tackles, blocks and saves that, on another day, would have seen at least one or two goals.
I feel frustrated and disappointed, rather than angry with our performance.
Inter haven’t been beaten at home for ages and we were so close to changing that stat.
With players coming back from injuries and seeing how that changed our defense, I’m still of the opinion that all the doom and gloom is a knee jerk reaction to four negative results… just my opinion of course.
Thank goodness for your sense of reason, Ken1945. It’s a welcome relief!
Thanks SueP, I just think I’m, sometimes, living in another footballing universe!!
Ken, the more we play this season, the more we miss a striker. A massive error not to get one.
It seems that way Reggie, but if you look at city115 with, perhaps the most prolific goalscorer in the PL, they are on a similar run to us and what guarantees are there that, by signing a similar player to Haaland, we wouldn’t be in the same position as city115 at this moment in time?
I’m not 100% sure it’s down to that one thing anyway, as our defensive injuries have seen, what was the best in the PL, now being breached every game.
Not strange then, when we get a back four that is near to being our strongest, we were able to push Inter back for most of the game and in their own back yard at that!!
Some of their last ditch tackles, blocks and saves, were top class and we were so unlucky not to have scored at least once, while, in the second half especially, they hardly got into our half.
Fingers crossed, with Odegaard and Rice back for Sunday and Havertz being fit, we’ll see our early form return, but I agree, if Havertz is injured, we will be wringing our hands at the lack of anyone with the kind of finishing that Aubemeyang gave us in his prime at the club.
The result is not a true reflection of the game by any means. I understand the frustration is due to our recent poor run of results, but I tell you,this is a good performance from Arsenal even though we lost as a result of illogical refereeing rule that should have no place in football. Arsenal was just unlucky in the match otherwise on another it would have been a whitewashing from Arsenal .