Arsenal Away at Napoli: Guimaraes Could Make First Start

On Wednesday night Beijing time, Arsenal will begin this season's Champions League campaign at the Maradona Stadium against Napoli. Pre-match predictions indicate that Bruno Guimaraes could make his first start in his Arsenal career.

Only One Change Possible in the Back Line

With Timber and Saliba sidelined due to injuries, Ben White, David Raya and Gabriel are expected to continue starting. The three players have played the full 90 minutes in each of the first three Premier League rounds this season. Calafiori is the most likely player to be rotated, with Piero Hincapie expected to replace him as the left-back. Calafiori was substituted early in two of Arsenal's first three Premier League matches this season.

Midfield Trio Takes Shape

Guimaraes missed the match against Chelsea due to injury, but he is expected to enter the starting lineup for this game. Rice and Odegaard will continue to occupy midfield positions. In attack, Trossard, Havertz and Saka are highly likely to start together.

Arsenal finished as Champions League runners-up last season and topped the league phase this season, so expectations are naturally high. However, the team will play four away matches in the next 10 days, making rotation necessary. The Champions League away match against Napoli and the League Cup away match against Ipswich are considered the two games where Arteta is most likely to adjust the lineup.

Group Stage Opponents and Schedule Pressure

Arsenal's group-stage opponents also include Slavia Prague, Lille and Shakhtar, so the pressure to qualify is not considered high. However, the same period also features consecutive matches against Bayern, Dortmund and Real Madrid, making points in the first two rounds especially important. Therefore, Arteta is unlikely to make major rotations away against Napoli.