Arsenal injury update ahead of Champions League clash with Athletic Club

The Gunners will open their UCL campaign against a Spanish team.

For their UEFA Champions League opener against Athletic Bilbao, Arsenal will be without Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and captain Martin Odegaard.

After suffering a shoulder injury against Leeds United a week prior, Odegaard was once again sidelined with a shoulder injury. This time during the Gunners’ 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest over the weekend.

Meanwhile, since August 23, Saka has been unable to play due to a hamstring issue.

“It’s very early to understand when, which week he’s going to be available, but he will certainly be pushing to be available as quickly as possible,” Mikel Arteta said of Saka prior to the match.

Despite the losses, Arteta has stated that he has the depth in his team to get revenge for last season’s Champions League heartbreak, thanks to Arsenal’s £250 million summer investment.

After struggling with a number of injuries during their 2024-25 UCL campaign, the Gunners lost badly to Paris Saint-Germain in the competition’s semifinals.

Arteta is convinced that the team will get the job done despite several injuries

Arteta used Mikel Merino as a striker since Kai Havertz suffered a ruptured hamstring. Arteta is certain that his team can do even better now that he has added eight players, including forward Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, and midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

Arteta said: “(We learned last season) that we are good enough, that we can compete against any opposition on the day.”

“And on top of that, two things have to go your way. You need to have a full squad available when it comes to the most critical moments in the season. And then as well, the ball has to go in, in the right moment or with the right decision because the margins are so small.”

“When we were training and we had eight or nine key players (out) and we’re going to games with 13 players and the level is extremely difficult. But I think even with that condition, we did really, really well. We gave ourselves an unbelievable chance and we were very unlucky in the semi-final not to get through.”

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