dpKey events
Fancy a deeper dive into Napoli’s dispiriting defeat to Inter last weekend? Nicky Bandini has all the details.
Arsenal make four changes to their starting XI following the 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Typically, having just posted a large picture of Kai Havertz, he’s one of four players stood down, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christos Tzolis and the increasingly influential Riccardo Calafiori. Piero Hincapié, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyökeres – the latter making his first start of the season – are in.
Napoli have a few faces familiar to Premier League fans in their starting XI. Billy Gilmour, formerly of Chelsea, Norwich and Brighton; Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne; and erstwhile Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund. Scott McTominay, also once of Old Trafford, is out until next month, having recently had successful surgery to treat an irregular heartbeat.
The teams
Napoli: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Olivera, Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne, Politano, Hojlund, Alisson Santos.
Subs: Contini, Milinkovic-Savic, Favasuli, Badiashile, Neres, Lucca, Vergara, Beukema, Spinazzola.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie, Merino, Rice, Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Meslier, Tzolis, Madueke, Havertz, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman, Salmon.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Worry not, people. While this …
… meant this happened …
… Arsenal are in the house. As proof, here’s Kai Havertz arriving at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Not 100 percent sure the Louis Vuitton bag pairs well with the Adidas clobber. The lanyard definitely clashes.
Preamble
Arsenal came so close last time round. But now they’ve got that Premier League monkey off their back, perhaps this season will finally be their moment to fill that conspicuous big-eared gap on their roll of honour. Because having slaked their domestic thirst, they’ve spent the first few games of this campaign with supreme confidence, swanning around like they own the place, which at the moment they kind of do. Spirits are at an all-time high …
… and that’s before taking into consideration that near miss last season. Because while Arsenal’s 2025-26 Champions League tilt ended in despair, the bare facts are nevertheless something to take pride in: a 100-percent record in the league phase, unbeaten in regular time over the whole piece with a W11 D4 record, and the best defensive record (just seven goals conceded, nine clean sheets) of everyone. And having gone toe to toe with PSG, the best team in Europe, there’s little left to fear. Apart from perhaps another penalty shootout, that is, but that’s a bridge to cross sometime in the future.
Napoli by contrast have won just two of their last ten games in the Champions League, and failed to get past the league phase last year. They’ve lost their last three Champions League matches against English teams, and three of their four previous fixtures against Arsenal. And while the Gunners have started their domestic campaign thrillingly, Gli Azzurri have begun Serie A miserably, following up a home defeat to Como by frittering away a two-goal lead against Inter and coming away with nothing.
So all signs point to an opening victory for last year’s runners-up. And yet Mikel Arteta won’t be taking anything for granted, partly because that’s just not how he rolls, but mainly because he’s already tasted defeat in Naples as a player, getting himself sent off in the process. Oh Mikel! Kick-off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is at 8pm BST, 9pm local. It’s on!
