7:05PM
Raya keeps his place
The big news is that David Raya keeps his place in goal, ahead of Aaron Ramsdale. Raya made his Arsenal debut against Everton on Sunday and kept a clean sheet, but Ramsdale will no doubt be disappointed that he has not been given a chance to make his Champions League debut… yet. Especially because he played such an important role in getting Arsenal back into this competition.
7:00PM
Jesus reveals role in Zinchenko move
Gabriel Jesus has revealed how he played the role of “secret agent” in convincing Oleksandr Zinchenko to follow him from Manchester City to Arsenal in the summer of 2022.
Jesus said he made a surprise appearance at Zinchenko’s house in an attempt to persuade the Ukraine international to also make the move.
Zinchenko said that Jesus was Arsenal’s “secret agent” and, speaking ahead of tonight’s match, the Brazil striker joked that he deserves a percentage of the deal.
“I was in Manchester, at home with my family,” Jesus remembered. “I was supposed to come to London the day after, by car. Edu [Arsenal’s sporting director] just texted me and said they were going to Zinny’s house.
“If I wanted to come to join them, to talk with Zinny, then I could come [to London] by plane. So I said, ‘OK’. I went there and talked with him. He was surprised! If I helped a little bit, I am happy because I like him as a player and as a person. I treat him as a brother.”
Jesus said he has now fully overcome the troublesome knee problem that has hindered him in recent months and caused him to have two knee operations in the last year. “My knee is perfect,” he said. “Now it is more about rhythm.”
Jesus also revealed how, as a child in Brazil, he used to skip school to watch the Champions League on TV. “My mum got crazy,” he said. “I grew up dreaming to play in the Champions League, to become a top player. Now I can say this but at that time I could not tell my mum [about skipping school]. Kids, please don’t do that. It’s no good.”
6:46PM
Arsenal back at the big boys’ table
After six years of painful banishment, Arsenal are back at the big boy’s table. Gunners fans will be in their seats early tonight to hear the Champions League theme blasted out at the Emirates and boy will it sound good. The tune has even been played in the team gym this week, Gabriel Jesus revealed.
While no club should take sustained success for granted, after 19 successive seasons in Europe’s elite competition before their exile, Arsenal cannot really be blamed for having started to feel like they belonged there. So tonight is a home-coming of sorts.
The visit of PSV Eindhoven in Group B will be Mikel Arteta’s first Champions League match as manager, although he experienced the competition in his previous incarnation as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants at Manchester City.
”Every time I watched [the Champions League] and we weren’t there, I felt it. This club has to be in the Champions League,” said Arteta this week.”For me it is the first time as a manager, so I am really looking forward to it.”
Arsenal suffered some torrid nights in the Champions League towards the end of their nearly two decades uninterrupted in the competition, often at the hands of Bayern Munich, but Arteta said qualifying for the knockout stage was the bare minimum this season.
“That’s what we want to do, but we’re going to play against a really good team. They haven’t lost a game [this season] and they have won the majority of them, and they are used to winning.”
Arsenal have had a solid if unspectacular start to the domestic season as rival teams have responded to their stunning revival last season by focusing on stifling their passing, attacking style, often resulting in matches that seem like attack-v-defence training drills. Arteta has nevertheless been delighted by his team’s resolve in grinding out three wins by a single goal, a draw and the 3-1 triumph over Manchester United to sit in fourth place, two points off the top.
Tonight could, however, produce more entertaining fare as PSV manager Peter Bosz is also attack-minded, so fingers crossed, the Emirates will witness some decent entertainment. Bring on the theme tune!
