Having won in Spain twice last season 2-1, Arsenal will begin their Champions League campaign this Tuesday at 17.45 pm (UK time) when we face Athletic Bilbao for the first time in a competitive match.
It is the second year running under UEFA’s new format where 36 clubs will play 4 teams at home and then 4 different sides away. You need to finish in the top 8 positions to be guaranteed a place in the knockout stages. Those finishing between 9th and 24th will face a two-legged play-off for a spot in the last 16. Anything worse than 24th means elimination from all European football.
The Gunners finished 3rd last year but it should be stressed that Liverpool topped the league and yet failed to get to the quarter finals. Champions PSG started off by only managing a 15th place finish. In other words, do not get carried away by where you end up if you are in the top 8. Of course some of my peers will.
A special night at San Mamés
So, who are our midweek opponents?
It will be a special night on Tuesday at the Estadio San Mamés as it hosts Champions League action for only the second time. It further highlights the progress that has been made since Ernesto Valverde’s third return as manager. After ending their four-decade wait for a trophy, the 61-year-old followed that up by qualification to UEFA’s grown-up table for only the third time since 1998 and the first since 2014.
Sometimes in sport you need luck that you cannot control and the timing of this fixture may have come at the right time for us. It is a squad hard to beat, hence they lost the same number of league games last season as Barcelona and Madrid’s big two. Yet on paper there may have been tougher dates on the calendar to travel to Bilbao.
Recently they have been in the news for the wrong reasons disrupting their centre back options. Yeray Álvarez has been suspended for 10 months due to a failed doping test which he said was a result of medication taken for hair loss. Aymeric Laporte wanted to return to the club but that was delayed due to paperwork issues meaning FIFA did not register him until after squads were submitted to UEFA. That is a blow as you would expect their tactics to be high pressing with an organised defensive structure.
Namely that is because as I write this there are doubts regarding Nico Williams’ fitness. A hip injury on international duty meant the 23-year-old was unavailable this weekend. Throughout the transfer window there was constant speculation that Mikel Arteta remains a huge fan of his countryman and would love to sign him. At one point this summer it seemed Williams was destined to move to the Spanish champions but for the second year running he was convinced to stay with his current employer.
The unique Basque policy
That might be testament to the unique community and family culture the club has created due to its only Basque policy. While not an official rule by any owner or indeed any association, since 1911 Athletic Bilbao have not signed anyone born or raised outside the Basque Country. We will be having fun with this throughout the week but this essentially started as the club following a policy in response to accusations of fielding ineligible English players. This became the club’s philosophy.
On the pitch it has led to an effective youth system, off the pitch it has been seen as a way for Basque nationalism to be expressed. While you would assume this is a top flight club limiting themselves, Bilbao are only one of three of La Liga’s founding members never to be relegated.
It means this is a club very proud of their region who will not take this week’s occasion for granted. Both Arsenal and Athletic face other Spanish and English sides in the league stage.
Let me know your prediction peeps?
Dan Smith
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This is interesting. Never knew they don’t sign anyone who’s not born or raised in Spain.
Anyways, I fully expect us to beat them in their own backyard though with a slim margin.
It’s more restricted than that. Athletic Bilbao won’t sign anyone from outside of the Basque region of Spain.
This is one of the reasons why Arsenal would likely end up winning or at least drawing the game, despite playing in Athletic Bilbao’s turf
I believe our manager’s tactics and squad are superior to Athletic Bilbao’s
Agreed GAI, it does seem over restrictive, doesn’t it? Although, having said that I’d love to see Arsenal with a squad full of players from London & the home counties.
Maybe Basque teenagers don’t have much choice to succeed in life apart from football, like their Brazilian counterparts
I think London kids have more choices to build wealth, hence the lack of highly-skilled youngsters there
Arteta has never been in the Athletic Stadium. Interesting. He’s from the other side of local rivalry.
I love reading books I do. There’s a very good book on Spanish football called Morbo, that explains a lot of the club rivalries in Spain football are shaped by the nations history, languages, and politics, more so than English football.
Why are Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad fierce rivals if both basque? It’s because, despite both being Basque, they have a long-standing competition for regional dominance and the best Basque talent, with Athletic’s historic Basque-only policy contrasting with Real Sociedad’s eventual decision to sign non-Basque players to compete with their larger rivals. However in 1911 when Sociedad did have basque only policy, they accused Bilbao of using foreigners, and Bilbao haven’t forgotten the slur.
Athletic Bilbao used the Basque flag during the Franco dictatorship – where Referees thought it sensible to allow Real Madrid to get the odd soft penalty – whilst Real Sociedad’s shift to hiring non-Basque players was a pragmatic response to Athletic’s perceived superior status. Bilbao fans tend to be more working class than Sociedad.
We should beat them.
We must just not take them lightly.
If you ask me a million times they are well beatable by Arsenal. Though Arsenal can be unpredictable in this type of game so I will predict a draw or slim win for the gunners.
We defeated them in a friendly at Emirate 3:0 when our players were just coming together. Momentum is on Arsenal side and it would be a good preparation for MCity match next Sunday.
I don’t see Arsenal losing, at most a draw
Arteta should get his selection right and I believe we will beat them.
I’m guessing Arteta will go with this selection –
Gyokeres.
Eze. Merino. Madueke.
Rice. Zubimendi.
Calafiori. Gabriel. Mosquera. Timber.
Raya.
Routine win.
Man. United spanked them 3-0 there a few months ago and look how bad they are, anything less an Arsenal win and I’ll be disappointed, we should be laying down an early marker in this competition if we are gonna be a serious contender.
Last season, 15th in the league Man Utd beat Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate in EL. Speaks volumes really. It would certainly be a massive disappointment if we don’t beat them