Napoli vs Arsenal LIVE: Champions League match stream, confirmed team news, lineups and fan reaction
Arsenal begin their latest bid for Champions League glory in Naples tonight. The Gunners travel to southern Italy hoping to deliver an early statement victory in this season’s league phase to show there will be no lasting hangover from last year’s agonising final defeat on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain. Mikel Arteta’s side should be in good spirits at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after coming from behind to beat Chelsea at the weekend an continue their 100 percent winning start to the new campaign.
However, Arsenal's preparations have been disrupted by travel issues in the UK which delayed their flight and meant Arteta's pre-match press conference had to be cancelled. That said, the positives are that Jurrien Timber has made the trip and could make his first appearance since May.
Napoli, meanwhile, have now suffered back-to-back losses in Serie A after starting the season with a win over Genoa and will be without talisman Scott McTominay after he underwent minor heart surgery. Kevin De Bruyne, though, is available for selection as he aims to haunt the Gunners once again. Follow Napoli vs Arsenal LIVE below with dedicated match blog, with expert insight and analysis from Matt Verri.
Napoli vs Arsenal latest news
Live updates
Fan reaction: Points to prove
Napoli team
Three changes to the Napoli side that started the 3-2 Serie A loss to Inter Milan at the weekend.
Kevin De Bruyne is among those drafted in as Frank Anguissa misses out.
Napoli team in full
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Rafa Marin, Olivera; Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne; Politano, Hojlund, Alisson Santos.
Contini, Milinkovic-Savic, Favasuli, Badiashile, Neres, Lucca, Vergara, Beukema, Spinazzola
Mikel Arteta has a deep squad and he's using it tonight, making four changes in Naples. Two of those come in the front three, where it's a big night for Viktor Gyokeres.
This is his first start of the season and it comes after a really poor cameo off the bench against Chelsea.
Kai Havertz is the clear first-choice No9 right now, but Gyokeres needs to show he still can offer something when his chances come.
Arsenal team in full
Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie, Merino, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Eze, Gyokeres.
Arrizabalaga, Meslier, Calafiori, Salmon, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Tzolis, Madueke, Dowman, Havertz.
Here is the Arsenal team that Mikel Arteta has selected for tonight's Champions League tie.
Napoli vs Arsenal LIVE - team news imminent
The teams will be announced shortly!
Stay tuned...
'Arsenal have the quality and confidence needed to win the treble'
Dion Dublin shares his early season prediction on Arsenal.
"Can Arsenal win four trophies this season? Maybe. It’s the start of the season so they’ve got every chance to go and do it. You could argue that’s true for every other club whether it’s Chelsea or Manchester United but Arsenal are the club in pole position.
"They’ll have their sights set on winning the Premier League again first and foremost but I think there’ll be a sense in that dressing room, all around the Arsenal training ground, that we could do something special here.
"No one is going to come out and say. They’ll be saying don’t anybody what we’re thinking here. But I think they have the quality and the confidence now to believe we could go and do a double or a treble or maybe something more.
"That’s what the Arsenal players will be thinking. They’ll want to go further this year, and you look at the business they’ve done and they look stronger than they did last season, so they should go close."
Arsenal discover UEFA punishment for cancelled press conference
Arsenal are expected to avoid punishment from UEFA for missing their pre-match press conference on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League clash against Napoli.
The Gunners, who were runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain last season, begin their quest for a first-ever major European crown with a trip to Naples to face the 2024/25 Serie A winners on Wednesday night.
Although, Arsenal’s preparations for the showdown at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona have been hit significantly.
All clubs competing in UEFA competitions are required "to fulfil their media obligations the day before the match", but the Gunners were forced to cancel Mikel Arteta's media briefing due to travel trouble.
