Under the lights at the Emirates on Tuesday night, Lille will test their nerve against Arsenal in the second matchday of the Champions League league phase. Davide Ancelotti wants his side to carry their own character into north London rather than be shaped by the occasion.
Key takeaways
- Lille have all available players in the travelling group apart from injured trio Tiago Santos, Hamza Igamane and Ethan Mbappé.
- Basar Önal returns to the squad after missing Saturday’s 1-0 Ligue 1 win over Le Havre.
- Ancelotti says Lille must retain their identity and create attacking problems for Arsenal.
- The coach has taken the unusual step of holding the final pre-match training session away from Lille’s usual setting.
- Lille are working on set-pieces after scoring once from them in the Champions League so far.
A wider squad, but Santos remains absent
Ancelotti can select 23 players for European matches, compared with 21 in Ligue 1, giving him greater room in his Champions League plans. Önal was the player left out for the visit of Le Havre on Saturday, but he is back in contention for the Arsenal trip.
Tiago Santos, Igamane and Mbappé remain unavailable. Santos has suffered a serious recurrence of his injury, with Ancelotti stressing that the defender has not been forgotten despite leaving the day-to-day group environment.
“We are here to support Tiago,” Ancelotti said. “The most important thing is to stay close to him on a human level.”
Lille will prepare in an unfamiliar way on the eve of the match. Ancelotti said the change was motivated by the exceptional nature of the occasion and a wish to give the squad positive energy, while making clear it will not necessarily become a regular routine.
Identity and dead-ball work in north London
Arsenal arrive after a 3-0 win at Brighton on September 19 and a 2-1 home victory over Leeds on Saturday. Ancelotti has studied both games, but does not believe their recent form should alter Lille’s basic approach.
He noted that Arsenal faced very different opponents in those Premier League fixtures and said his own team must not lose its principles. Lille’s objective is to preserve their quality on the ball while finding ways to hurt the English side in forward areas.
Defensive solidity remains the foundation of Ancelotti’s project. He believes Lille have maintained the defensive strength shown last season, although he wants sharper responses to second balls, particularly when Arsenal attack from set-pieces.
Lille are also developing their own attacking routines from dead-ball situations. Their only goal of that kind in this Champions League league phase came in the 3-2 defeat to Real Betis on September 8, when Alexsandro headed in from a corner.
Ancelotti said such progress requires time, repetition and a measure of fortune. He accepts that no team can play at its best throughout every match, but expects his players to grow in confidence and intensity, especially in attack, as the season develops.
