Premier League champions Arsenal host Ligue 1 side Lille for Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League tonight at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners will try and make it two wins out of two after a dominant opening day away win to Napoli (0-1). Norwegian captain Martin Ödegaard, who scored the Gunners’ goal at Diego Maradona Stadium, is expected to start as Mikel Arteta’s No. 10. The Spaniard could be tempted to rotate his side ahead of next week’s mouth-watering away clash against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
L’Equipe predicts that Riccardo Calafiori will be benched to hand over the left-back spot to Myles Lewis-Skelly. With Gabriel Saliba still recovering from back pains, Ezri Konsa will partner Gabriel at the back. The Brazilian faces his former Lille side.
Up front, Viktor Gyökeres will be given the chance to impress after spending much of the early stages of the season on the bench. The Swede is poised to start alongside English wingers Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka. Arteta revealed on Tuesday that Martin Zubimendi and Piero Hincapié sustained injuries after Arsenal’s 2-1 home win over Leeds United on Saturday.
Arsenal likely line-up v LilleDavid Raya; Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel, Ezri Konsa, Jurriën Timber; Declan Rice, Mikel Merino; Eberechi Eze, Martin Ödegaard, Bukayo Saka; Viktor Gyökeres. (L’Éq)
GFFN | Bastien Cheval