Selection decisions ahead of a massive European tie

Morning all.

European games don’t get much more exciting and glamorous than tonight’s encounter with Real Madrid. A Champions League quarter-final first leg against the side that has won this competition more than any other side, who have an incredible group of players at their disposal, and will provide a very, very serious challenge for Arsenal.

Let’s start with the team selection decisions Mikel Arteta faces. When asked at his press conference yesterday if he had decided who would replace Gabriel in the back four, he said with real certainty than he had already had. I think there are two options available to him. First is to stick with Jakub Kiwior as the ‘natural’, left-footed replacement for the Brazilian; second is to bring Ben White into the side and shift William Saliba to left centre-half, where he has often played for France.

In discussing this yesterday, I think the conventional wisdom was that in the latter scenario, it would be White at centre-half, but thinking about it this morning, on the few occasions when Arteta has played him and Jurrien Timber together, the Dutchman has been the one to be deployed centrally.

My gut feeling is that the defensive decision is linked to one he’ll make higher up the pitch. Although I’m still a bit cautious about it, I suspect he’ll start Bukayo Saka on the right, his first start since returning from his injury/surgery. So, for me that means Timber at right back, Saliba in his normal position, and Kiwior alongside him. If Ben White was fully fit with a good few games under his belt, I think he’d go with him in the team this evening, but he hasn’t played a great deal since his own return from injury, so it’d just be too much of a risk to use two players who aren’t 100% match fit yet. Especially when they’re both operating on the same side.

Another consideration for me is that White missed the game against Fulham with an injury, and in the same game Timber had to go off with a knee problem. So if you use them both from the start and you lose one, the knock-on effect of that is you’re more than likely going to have to move Thomas Partey to right-back during the game, and I that’s a scenario we don’t really need to see. I could be wrong, of course, but with all that in mind it means Kiwior starts, and it’s going to be a big test for him – but then that’s true of every player out there.

The other big decision is who starts up front? Leandro Trossard got a goal against Everton on Saturday, and made a case for his inclusion. I just think he’ll go with Mikel Merino to press home that size advantage we have, and in the absence of Gabriel, another player who is good from set-pieces makes sense as we look to maximise the things we’re good at. With Raheem Sterling suspended, attacking options from the bench are limited, so being able to call on someone as experienced as Trossard, who has been effective as a sub in the past, makes sense to me.

As for tonight’s opposition, what do I need to say? There’s no insight I can give you into the quality of players like Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, and Jude Bellingham. You already know how good they are, and some of these individual battles are going to be fascinating. Timber v Vini Jr, MLS v Rodrygo, our full backs are going to have to be on it this evening, and with Mbappe and Bellingham doing what they do from more central areas the midfield and centre-halves will surely be tested.

On the other side, if there’s an area where Real Madrid are weaker it’s at the back. They still have quality and experience but we can test them there, for sure. They’re not great from set-pieces either, with 10 La Liga goals conceded from corners this season, and that will surely have been a conversation on the training ground in the build up to this one. Nicolas Jover, earn your corn, por favor.

Speaking ahead of the game, Mikel Arteta said of the occasion:

It is one of the most special things. It’s a competition that we’ve been waiting for for many, many years. The fact that we’ve only been twice at this stage in 15 years with the size of Arsenal and the difficulty of that. We’re going to create our own story and go even further. Tomorrow is a beautiful opportunity for all of us.

And he called on those who are going to be there to help make it special:

8pm tomorrow night, 11 players, 60,000 people need to be really super convinced that we are ready to win and to beat them. That’s the mindset that I want.

In order to achieve that, we’re going to need our people playing every single ball with us and that’s going to make a huge difference because that’s something that is really needed. At these stages, you need your home stadium to create a very, very special atmosphere to generate momentum. So, let’s go. I encourage everybody to go there tomorrow to play the game with us. Not to be there watching it but to play the game with us.

The club are going all in on the pomp and ceremony too, and why not? I know our league season has been underwhelming, but this is a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. How long have we missed these kinds of nights? Even when being in this competition year after year was routine, we ended up in this tedious cycle of Round of 16 exits against either Barcelona or Bayern Munich.

Now? We have this. After years without the BIG European nights, we have two in successive seasons after Bayern last year. I understand frustration at what’s happened in the Premier League, but being here again is another marker of how this team has improved and on nights like this you have to let yourself dream a little. Everyone knows how big a challenge it is, how difficult it’s going to be, and how we’re going into this game with problems we’d rather not have, but what makes football so special is how it can surprise you.

The players will be up for it 100%, and Arsenal fans should be too. It’s going to be a long, nervy day, but if that’s what we have to cope with to enjoy a great European night at home, then it’s a small price to pay. Fingers crossed.

Right, I’ll leave it there for now. We have a bit of a preview podcast over on Patreon (combo with The 30) if you need something to listen to in the meantime, and we’ll have live blog coverage, report, player ratings, goal clips, reaction and more on Arseblog News afterwards.

Come on you reds!