It was a tough weekend for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal fans following a surprising defeat to Bournemouth, compounded by a red card for French defender William Saliba, leaving the team and supporters disappointed.
The Gunners will now aim to bounce back with a strong performance in front of their home crowd in Europe's top club competition. At Sportz point we bring you all the major talking points of this fixture.
Match Details
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Match: Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk - UEFA Champions League
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Date: 23/10/2024
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Time: 12:30 am (IST)
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Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England
How to watch the Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Champions League Match
The Live streaming of the Champions League match between Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk will be on the Sony Liv app. The game will also be telecast live on India's Sony Sports TV network and Star Sports
Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Head-to-Head
A five-star display in N5 ✊
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 22, 2024
⏪ The last time we hosted Shakhtar Donetsk... pic.twitter.com/Q3ktELiW8O
All previous home UEFA Champions League encounters with Shakhtar Donetsk have ended in victories for the home side, during the 2000/01 and 2010/11 group stages. Arsenal secured a 3-2 win at Highbury in 2000, followed by a 5-1 triumph at Emirates Stadium in 2010 which was the last time the two sides met.
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Results from past encounters between the two sides
Date | Teams | Result |
3/11/10 |
Shakhtar Arsenal |
2 1 |
19/10/10 |
Arsenal Shakhtar |
5 1 |
6/9/00 |
Shakhtar Arsenal |
3 0 |
19/9/00 |
Arsenal Shakhtar |
3 2 |
Team News
Arsenal
⏪ Last time out in the Champions League... pic.twitter.com/kS5F6nJCxS
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 22, 2024
Arsenal has been rock solid at home in the Champions League group stage, having not lost since September 2015 when Olympiakos edged us 3-2. Since then, the club has won eight of the nine games, drawing just once, and impressively keeping a clean sheet in all eight victories.
This season, the trend continues as we've yet to concede, securing a 0-0 draw against Atalanta and a 2-0 win over PSG. It is worthy of note that Arsenal has only lost twice in all competitions since January this year one to Aston Villa and the most recent against Bournemouth.
In his pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta provided updates on Bukayo Saka (hamstring) and Martin Odegaard (ankle). He mentioned that both players are making good progress. While Martin isn't fit to play yet, Arteta noted that Bukayo's availability depends on how he feels after today's training session.
Mikel Arteta mentioned that Jurrien Timber is nearing a return but will need to be assessed after training with the full squad, while Tomiyasu (knee) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) remain sidelined.
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Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar, currently sit fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League with 19 points and the highest number of goals (25), have struggled in Europe, sitting 27th in the Champions League after a 0-0 draw against Bologna and a 3-0 loss to Atalanta.
Shakhtar Donetsk have not won any of their seven away group stage matches in England in the Champions League (D1, L6), but they managed a 1-1 draw against Manchester City on their most recent visit in November 2019.
Tymur Puzankov is the only doubtful for this game for the Ukrainian club, every other player is available for selection.
Possible XIs
Arsenal's possible lineup: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Rice, Merino; Sterling, Jesus, Trossard
Shakhtar Donetsk possible lineup: Riznyk; Konoplya, Bondar, Matvienko, Henrique; Stepanenko; Zubkov, Bondarenko, Sudakov, Newerton; Sikan
Fantasy XI
Raya; Stepanenko, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Rice, Merino,Sterling, Sudakov, Trossard