Fresh from watching the Premier League title slip further away, Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad go into a highly intense Champions League encounter with Inter Milan on Wednesday. Both teams come into the fray with seven points apiece in the group stages, and a win at the iconic San Siro is imperative for their European ambitions.
Form and Road to Redemption for Arsenal
Arsenal heads to Milan without the best feelings as the team suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United last Sunday. Without the creative spark of Martin Odegaard, Arsenal failed to break down a deep-lying Newcastle rearguard and have not won any of their last three Premier League games. Now outside the top four, the Gunners find themselves seven points behind Liverpool, which makes the Champions League clash very important in terms of morale and momentum.
There’s the upcoming farewell to sporting director Edu, one of Arteta’s most trusted allies. Not in the best of form right now, Arsenal showed some spirit in the Champions League to steal a 1-0 home victory over Shakhtar Donetsk and are ninth in the UCL table with seven points, having kept a perfect defensive record in Europe that they will be keen on extending against Inter’s potent attack.
Inter Milan’s Strengths and Recent Form
Inter Milan are also performing well with good defensive discipline under Simone Inzaghi, yet to concede a goal in this year’s Champions League. Following a draw against Manchester City, they walloped Red Star Belgrade 4-0 before edging Young Boys with a late winner from Marcus Thuram.
With fresh victories and a pulsating draw with Juventus, Inter sit just a point behind Napoli in Serie A. Though they almost blew it, Inter managed to escape with a win against Venezia in the last match and is still the powerhouse as they have won seven of their last eight matches.
Team News and Injury Updates
Arsenal Updates
Martin Odegaard is near a return from an ankle problem and may be fit enough for an appearance on Wednesday, but seems unlikely to start. Defender Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Kieran Tierney (hamstring), and Riccardo Calafiori are ruled out. Arteta will likely restore Ben White into the first XI in order to move Thomas Partey into his favored midfield position.
Predicted Starting XI
Goalkeeper: Raya
Defenders: White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber
Midfielders: Partee, Rice, Merino
Forwards: Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Inter Milan News
Inter will most likely welcome back Alessandro Bastoni, who retired to the sidelines with cramps in the 1st half against Venezia. Carlos Augusto (hamstring) remains their only absentee, with Federico Dimarco set to deputize on the left side of their back four. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu should control the tempo of the game in the middle of the part, with Lautaro Martinez and Taremi leading the attack.
Inter Milan’s Predicted Starting XI
Goalkeeper: Sommer
Defenders: Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni
Midfielders: Dumfries, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Dimarco
Forwards: Taremi, Martinez
Prediction: Milan to host a tight encounter
This can turn out to be a match of classic contrast between the tactical approach of Arsenal and Inter’s defensive solidity. The return of Odegaard should give much-needed creativity to Arsenal in the middle, but he probably won’t start, which makes their attacking options limited. The rock-solid Inter defense and the recent attacking woes for them may make this a goalless draw.
