Arsenal are back in Champions League action hoping to bounce back from a terrible domestic weekend as they host Shakhtar Donetsk in the European top-flight.
Mikel Arteta’s men were defeated 2-0 by Bournemouth in the Premier League last time out and will hope to brush that loss aside in order move closer to the automatic qualifying spots in the Champions League table tonight.
The top eight teams will all earn a place in the last-16 without having to go through a play-off match and the Gunners currently sit 13th with one win and one draw from their two matches so far. It has been a strong start to the competition with their opponents being Europa League champions Atalanta and Ligue 1 winners Paris Saint-Germain.
In comparision, Shakhtar are still seeking their first win in the revamped league phase having taken one point from their first two matches. Arsenal will be confident of winning all three points tonight but the Champions League does throw out the odd surprising result.
Follow all the action with our live blog below:
Arsenal versus Ukranian teams
Arsenal last faced Ukrainian opponents in the 2018/19 Europa League group stage, beating Vorskla Poltava 4-2 at home and 3-0 away – the latter game was Bukayo Saka’s first-team debut.
Their loss at Shakhtar in 2010 is Arsenal’s only defeat in their last seven games against teams from Ukraine (W5 D1) and the only one of the last five they have not won.
The Gunners have recorded five successive victories at home to Ukrainian visitors, scoring 14 goals.
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:55
Arsenal team changes
Mikel Arteta makes two changes from the team that lost to Bournemouth on Saturday. Raheem Sterling and Mikel Merino drop out with Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus brought in.
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:51
Arsenal vs Shakhtar line-ups
Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Martinelli, Rice, Partey, Trossard; Havertz, Jesus
Shakhtar XI: Riznyk; Konoplia, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pedro Henrique; Kryskiv; Zubkov, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Eguinaldo; Sikan
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:50
Ben White sets record straight over whether he ‘hates’ football
Ben White has cleared up confusion over whether he hates football after previously admitting he does not watch it in his downtime.
Footballers are generally presumed to be obssessed with the sport, with many admitting that they spend a lot of their time off watching wahtever game happens to be on TV.
But Arsenal defender White raised eyebrows when he conceded in past interviews that he doesn’t engage with it once he leaves the training ground. The story that he hates the sport also gained traction after he pulled out of the England squad during the 2022 World Cup for personal reasons and went home – amid rumours of a bust-up with Gareth Southgate’s assistant coach Steve Holland, which Southgate always denied.
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:40
‘Winning Champions League would be amazing’
Arsenal midfielder, Mikel Merino, says that winning the Champions League would be amazing and believes his teammates have the mentality to get over the line.
He said: “I’ve been lucky enough to win a lot of trophies in my career. I know the feeling. It’s something you can’t compare with anything else.
“Knowing what this club is about, and how big winning trophies is, winning the Champions League would be amazing. There is still a long way to go, but we have the basics and we have the mentality.”
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:35
Arteta on Champions League nights
Mikel Arteta says that his players always have the ‘desire’ to perform well when they take part in Champions League fixtures and he hopes they will feed off the atmosphere of playing in front of a home crowd.
The Gunners boss said: “The desire is always there, and we always want to play these kind of matches. We know the atmosphere is going to be really good tomorrow night so we will try to feed off that and try to win the game.”
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:30
Visitors practise at the Emirates
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:25
Fact of the day
Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Auxerre on this day in 2002 in the Champions League, although the return of the inspirational Robert Pires as a substitute following a long-term knee injury lifted the Gunners’ spirits despite their defeat.
They went on to win their group before exiting after the second group stage but they lifted silverware that season in the form of the FA Cup.
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:20
Arsenal vs Shakhtar previous meetings
The two teams have faced each other four times with the honours being shared equally with two wins for the Gunners and two for Shakhtar.
Arsenal have been more prolific in front of goal, but only just, with nine goals scored compared to Shakhtar’s eight. This looks like it may be a top quality fixture.
Here are the previous meetings stats:
Matches 4 Arsenal wins 2 Shakhtar wins 2 Draws 0 Arsenal goals 9 Shakhtar goals 8
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:15
Previous Champions League results
Arsenal face Shakhtar Donetsk for the first time in 14 seasons in the league phase of the Champions League.
They were held 0-0 at Atalanta on Matchday 1 before Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka gave the Gunners a statement 2-0 win at home to Paris Saint-Germain in their second fixture.
Meanwhile, their Ukrainian opponents have a single point, drawing 0-0 at Bologna before a 0-3 loss against Atalanta.
Mike Jones22 October 2024 18:10