Arsenal begin their Emirates Stadium league-phase campaign on Tuesday night with Lille arriving in London for a second-round Champions League meeting that carries early weight for both sides. Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions and last season’s European runners-up opened with a 1-0 victory at Napoli, while Davide Ancelotti’s Lille were beaten 3-2 by Betis in their first fixture.
Key takeaways
- Kick-off is at 21:00 on Tuesday 13 October at the 60,700-capacity Emirates Stadium.
- Arsenal will be without Martín Zubimendi, Piero Hincapié and Christos Tzolis.
- Lille travel without Ethan Mbappé and Tiago Santos.
- Felix Zwayer has been appointed referee, with Robert Schröder operating on VAR duties.
- Arsenal name Viktor Gyökeres up front, while Lille’s attack is led by Ayase Ueda.
London test after contrasting opening nights
Arsenal’s first European away night of the campaign brought a narrow but valuable win in Naples, and they now return to north London seeking to build early momentum in the league phase. Lille, currently second in Ligue 1, face a response mission after Betis left France with all three points on matchday one.
The visitors’ road through the eight-match phase remains demanding. After Arsenal, Lille host Galatasaray, then visit Bodo/Glimt before welcoming Bayern Munich. Further away trips to Stuttgart and Roma frame home fixtures against Slovan Bratislava.
- Lille: Betis 3-2 Lille, Arsenal away, Galatasaray home, Bodo/Glimt away, Bayern Munich home, Stuttgart away, Slovan Bratislava home, Roma away.
- Arsenal: Napoli 0-1 Arsenal, Lille home, Bayern Munich away, Slavia Prague away, Borussia Dortmund home, Real Madrid home, Betis away, Sabah home.
For Arsenal, the encounter begins a particularly testing Champions League run. Trips to Bayern Munich, Slavia Prague and Betis are mixed with Emirates meetings against Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Sabah. A strong attendance is expected for Lille’s visit, with the stadium set for another major continental occasion.
Team selections and match officials
David Raya starts in goal for Arsenal. Jurrien Timber, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly form the defensive line, with Bruno Guimarães and Declan Rice stationed behind an attacking unit of Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Gyökeres.
Arsenal’s substitutes are Kepa, Lucas Chevalier Meslier, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori, O’Neill, Dowman, Hashi and Salmon.
Lille select Ozer in goal, with Goffi, Ngoy, Alexsandro and Perraud in defence. Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin André make up the midfield pairing, behind Bakwa, Mukau, Haraldsson and Ueda.
The Lille bench includes Gill, Sajous, Srdanovic, Olivier Giroud, Sahraoui, Kjaergaard, Onal, Nianzou, Verdonk, Cossier, Perrin and Diaoune.
The match will be officiated by Zwayer, while Schröder oversees video review. In Spain, the game is scheduled for live coverage on M+ Liga de Campeones 5.
