Eberechi Eze will make his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League when Arsenal and Athletic Club face off at San Mames on Tuesday.

Arsenal will aim to kick-start the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign on a high when they lock horns with Athletic Club at San Mames on Tuesday evening. Mikel Arteta has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Bukayo Saka remains the most notable absentee, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Additionally, Ben White, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus are still sidelined, with Havertz and Jesus recovering from long-term knee injuries.

However, William Saliba is fit and available after resuming training, and he should be available to take on Athletic Club. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Arteta provided fitness updates on Saka, White, Havertz, and Jesus.

The Arsenal manager said, “Gabi, Kai, Ben and Martin are still out, unfortunately. No, I think there are still quite a lot of things to go through [for Saka to return]. 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.”

“Unfortunately, we have a few players already out, so that is already limited in certain positions. But hopefully we come to the point that the competition and the level of performance of the players are so high that we are able to do that very efficiently to win more football matches as our objective.”

David Raya is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Arsenal lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him against Athletic Club. The backline will feature Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Riccardo Calafiori. Mosquera will get the nod over Saliba, with Arteta easing Saliba into the thick of things.

As for the midfield unit, after Martin Odegaard endured a recurrence of a shoulder injury, Mikel Merino will accompany Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice in the middle of the park. Finally, Viktor Gyokeres will lead the line for the away side against Athletic Club, with Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze being the two wide attackers; the latter will make his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League.

Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Eze