Arsenal return to the Champions League on Tuesday aiming to record a tenth successive victory in all competitions.
Memories of the disastrous opening day defeat at home to Aston Villa have been quashed as Arsenal’s record continues.
Napoli arrive in equally high spirits after a fine run of form and an impressive 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the Emirates Cup.
Squad news
After an early season injury crisis, the squad is gradually returning to full strength.
Last week’s Capital One Cup outing at West Brom saw Mikel Arteta and Tomas Vermaelen make their first starts of the season, giving a more robust feel to the squad than in the previous round against Marseille.
Further positive news sees Tomas Rosicky back in the fold after recovering from a hamstring injury. The Czech’s return will relieve the pressure on Arsenal’s midfield, with Serge Gnabry most likely to miss out. Rosicky “can play in all the offensive positions” and will add much needed experience against a confident Napoli side.
Key men
Yet another man of the match performance on the weekend from Aaron Ramsey will undoubtedly increase the expectation on the Welshman, and he will certainly have a key part to play against a Napoli side with several strong midfielders including one-time Arsenal target Gokhan Inler.
More importantly perhaps, Mathieu Flamini, on a fine run of form since returning to the club this summer, will be tasked with keeping Napoli’s lively attacking talent, particularly Marek Hamsik and Lorenzo Insigne, quiet.
With several players still out and after a fine run, Arsene Wenger will no doubt go for stability, selecting a similar line-up to the one that has proven so fruitful over the past month. Rosicky’s experience however will surely give him the nod over Gnabry.
Predicted line-up
Wojciech Szczesny; Bacary Sagna, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs; Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey; Tomas Rosicky, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere; Olivier Giroud.
Napoli
Rafa Benitez, appointed in May, made several shrewd signings over the summer, most notably the loan signing of Pepe Reina and the Real Madrid trio, Raul Albiol, Jose Callejon and Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain. In spite of losing Edinson Cavani, Napoli’s new signings have propelled the San Paolo outfit to second in the league, winning five out of six.
Despite resting several key players, Napoli were comfortable winners at Genoa on Saturday, with two goals from Goran Pandev. Albiol, a major component of Napoli’s impressive start to the season picked up a knock, though unfortunately for Arsenal he has travelled and appears likely to play.
Needless to say, the tie will be a tough test for this confident Arsenal side. Benitez, a tactical mastermind, has long had a love affair with the Champions League, indeed his sides’ most memorable performances have generally come in Europe. Napoli will play the traditional Italian way, sitting back and soaking Arsenal’s pressure before hitting on the break with the speed and intelligence of the aforementioned Hamsik and Insigne.
One of the toughest fixtures of the seasons thus far, the North London club will nevertheless expect to collect three points and edge closer to qualifying for the next round of Europe’s most illustrious competition.
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