Arsenal began their Champions League season on Tuesday evening with a challenging away fixture against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, as Mikel Arteta's side looked to build on last season's run to the final.
The Gunners arrived in Naples following a delayed flight caused by air traffic control issues in the UK, which forced the cancellation of Arteta's scheduled pre-match press conference. The squad had remained at their training ground before eventually departing for the airport, touching down in the Italian city around 9:30pm local time.
Arsenal made four changes from the side that beat Chelsea 2-1 in their last Premier League outing. Viktor Gyokeres was handed his first start of the season up front, while Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Piero Hincapie also came into the XI, with Kai Havertz, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christos Tzolis and Riccardo Calafiori all dropping to the bench. Jurrien Timber was not yet fit enough to be included in the squad.
Arsenal lined up with: Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Eze.
Napoli, meanwhile, were without midfielder Scott McTominay, who underwent a successful ablation procedure at Spire Manchester Hospital on Tuesday after being diagnosed with a mild, benign arrhythmia. A club statement confirmed the operation went smoothly, with the Scotland international expected to rest for two weeks before resuming training. The hosts named a side featuring several familiar Premier League faces, including former Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour, ex-Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, and former Manchester United forward Rasmus Hojlund. Napoli started: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Olivera, Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne, Politano, Hojlund, Alisson Santos. The match was officiated by Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg.
Arsenal arrived in Naples full of confidence following an outstanding run in last season's competition, in which they went unbeaten in normal time throughout the league phase, posting a record of 11 wins and four draws while conceding just seven goals across the campaign. That form carried them all the way to the final, where they ultimately fell short against Paris Saint-Germain.
Napoli, by contrast, arrived out of form, having won only two of their last ten Champions League fixtures and having failed to progress beyond the league phase last season. Domestically, the Serie A side endured a difficult start, following a home defeat to Como with a collapse against Inter in which they surrendered a two-goal lead to lose their most recent outing. Napoli have also lost three of their last four meetings with Arsenal and three straight Champions League matches against English opposition.
Despite the disparity in recent form, Arteta was not expected to take anything for granted. The Arsenal manager has personal history with the venue, having been sent off there during his playing days.
Elsewhere on a busy night for English clubs in Europe, Azerbaijani champions Sabah made their Champions League bows away to Manchester United, while Chelsea turned their attention to domestic competition, facing Leeds United in the Carabao Cup third round at Stamford Bridge.
Based on reporting from The Independent, The Guardian, BBC Sport and The Standard.