Arsenal face Inter Milan in the Champions League in what will be their fourth successive away game across four different competitions and Mikel Arteta has a few injuries to contend with
Arsenal will be without Piero Hincapie, Ricardo Calafiori and Max Dowman for their Champions League game against Inter Milan on Tuesday night. The Gunners have travelled to Italy hoping to bounce back from the disappointment at Nottingham Forest and continue their perfect record in the competition.
Mikel Arteta’s side have won all six of their Champions League games so far this season and sit top of the table. But Arteta knows it will be far from straightforward against Inter, especially after drawing 0-0 with Forest in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
The Arsenal manager rotated his side for the trip to the City Ground, where they frustratingly drew a blank and failed to take full advantage of defeats for Manchester City and Aston Villa. Arteta revealed post-match that Bukayo Saka didn’t start the game due to a “niggle” and that isn’t his only concern.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference on Monday, Arteta confirmed that Hincapie, Calafiori and Dowman will all be absent from the squad to face Inter. Hincapie has missed the last three games with a groin injury, Calafiori has been been absent for seven games with a muscle problem, while Dowman has an ankle issue. However, Kai Havertz and Cristhian Mosquera will be involved.
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Arteta emphasised the “need to manage our players” after the Forest game, with fixtures coming thick and fast. Arsenal remain in all four competitions and rotation will be key to ensuring they maintain their momentum.
Inter will be Arsenal’s fourth successive away game in all competitions and it comes ahead of a huge home game against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon in the league. “We have to adapt to that,” Arteta said.
“That’s the beauty of playing in different competitions and being in the latest stages of those in all of them and that’s what we want. So I think that’s a blessing, that’s something really, really positive and tomorrow we have the last one before we play at home again against United.”
Inter will be the 33rd game of the season for Arsenal, who could be faced with 65 in total if they go all the way in all competitions. “I think we have to go game by game,” Arteta said about the challenge his side are faced with.
“We can try to look ahead, but what is coming and what is relevant is the next match. Sometimes we’ve been thinking a lot about the future the next week or two or three weeks time and something happens that you have to adapt to the circumstances. Go game by game, enjoy the journey that we are in because it’s great and go for it every single game and let’s see what the next one brings.”
But Arteta gave nothing away when asked if he might ring the changes at San Siro. “Let’s see,” he said. “After tomorrow, after a really good night of sleep, we’ll see how it goes.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
