Arsenal v Athletic Club – UCL match preview, team news, predicted lineup and score prediction

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·16 September 2025

Arsenal v Athletic Club – UCL match preview, team news, predicted lineup and score prediction

Arsenal are back in action today, just three days after their comfortable 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. This evening marks the commencement of UEFA Champions League football, and with Arsenal scheduled for an early evening kick-off, they will be one of the first teams to launch their league phase campaign.

The Gunners will face Athletic Club for the first time in competitive football when they clash later today. Their most recent meeting ended in a 3-0 win for Arsenal in a pre-season friendly, played just before the start of the new campaign. This fixture promises to be a fascinating contest, with both clubs heading in with identical domestic records. Each has won three of their opening four games, though Bilbao lost their most recent match last weekend.

OneFootball Videos

Competition: UEFA Champions LeagueKick-off: Tuesday, 16 September, 5:45 PMVenue: Estadio de San Mamés, Bilbao, SpainReferee: Donatas Rumsas

Team news

Arsenal’s mini-injury crisis worsened after Martin Ødegaard sustained a shoulder injury on Saturday. The Norwegian will miss today’s clash, but he is not the only absentee. Ben White, who was on the bench against Nottingham Forest, has since suffered another minor setback. Mikel Arteta confirmed he will be unavailable, while also providing an update on Bukayo Saka. Arteta said via Arsenal:

“No, I think there are still quite a lot of things to go through. It’s very early to understand when and which week he’s going to be available. But he will certainly be pushing to be available as quickly as possible.”

Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain long-term absentees, while William Saliba is back in contention after travelling with the squad.

Arsenal v Athletic Club (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Predicted lineup

There are players pushing for their first starts of the campaign, including Myles Lewis-Skelly, Piero Hincapié and Ethan Nwaneri. After coming off the bench in the last game, Declan Rice is expected to slot back into the midfield three, while Ethan Nwaneri is tipped to replace Martin Ødegaard in the starting eleven.

Those are the only changes predicted from the Forest game.

Predicted XI:David RayaRiccardo CalafioriGabriel (c)Cristhian MosqueraJurrien TimberDeclan RiceMartin ZubimendiEthan NwaneriEberechi EzeViktor GyökeresNoni Madueke

Score prediction

2-1 in favour of Arsenal!

What is your score prediction, Gooners? Share your thoughts in the comments!

COYG!

Benjamin Kenneth

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