In north London, where Arsenal’s European nights now carry the expectation of a reigning English champion and last season’s continental runner-up, Tuesday brings Lille to the Emirates Stadium for the second round of the Champions League league phase. The visitors arrive from France sitting second in Ligue 1, with Davide Ancelotti’s early work drawing the respect of Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal will be without Martín Zubimendi and Piero Hincapié after both suffered ankle problems in the short recovery session following Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Leeds. The workout had been intended for those who had played limited minutes or remained unused in the matchday squad. Hincapié had entered in the 82nd minute for Riccardo Calafiori, while Zubimendi stayed on the bench.
Both players underwent examinations on Monday, with Hincapié’s injury understood to be the more serious of the two. Arteta admitted the situation was far from ideal and said the unusual timing made it particularly frustrating. He noted that, across his nine years in charge at Arsenal, he had never previously lost two players in a post-match training session.
The manager suggested there is no simple way to remove such risk entirely. Players who do not train cannot be injured in training, he reasoned, but they also lose sharpness and the capacity to influence matches. If he had known what was coming, Arteta said, he would have sent them to the jacuzzi and seen them the following day.
A French test in the league phase
Attention now turns to Lille, a side arriving in London with domestic momentum and a coach Arteta believes has made an impressive start. Arsenal’s ambition is not merely to negotiate the new league-phase schedule, but to earn another trip to the Champions League final.
“We want to earn the chance to play in another final,” Arteta said, while warning that Lille will provide demanding opposition. He described what Ancelotti has achieved so far as remarkable, setting up a meeting between two clubs beginning the European campaign with significant domestic standing but very different journeys across the continent.
