ENTER THE LIONS DEN

Here at Arsenal Legion, we could really use an ice bath for our fingers and some squad rotation, as the matches are coming thick and fast. We don't want to add to the injury list with carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

So where are we this drizzly Tuesday? Ah, yes, we love the smell of Champions League matchdays in the morning. We open up with a doozy away in Spain vs Athletic Club, known as the Lions, as you probably guessed from the subtle headline and image.

 

Instead of a nice, easy opener (cough Phafos cough), we got pot 4's nightmare of passion and tradition that will be actively hostile to our manager and some of our players. We're sure Arteta, Merino, and Zubi were thrilled with the draw, all being former Sociedad players (as is the non-travelling Odegaard). They can expect a warm welcome, no doubt. Hey, extra motivation and all that, right?

 

The Basque side hasn't been in the Champions League for over a decade (11 years, to be exact), so their raucous fan base will create a frenzied atmosphere. They are no strangers to Europe, however, and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last season.  Their home form in that run was impressive, winning every game until the semi-final loss to Man Utd (where they were down to ten men after 35 minutes). They qualified by finishing 4th in La Liga where they went unbeaten in 16 matches between October and February.

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They are coached by the experienced former Bilbao player, Ernesto Valverde, who is currently in his third stint at the helm.​ We are all aware of their star man, winger, Nico Williams, although there is big talk that he misses the game tonight injured. If so, that's a huge bonus for us as he is their best player.

 

He seemed to be perma-linked with a move to us, then seemed set for Barca, but shocked everyone by playing the ultimate loyalty card and signing a new TEN-YEAR DEAL in Bilbao. That kind of contract you normally only see at Stamford Bridge. Maybe they offered him a ten-year free supply of pintxos at his fave tapas joint? Jokes aside, we will never knock a player staying at their current club if they are settled and happy. Fair play to him.

 

We were never as high on him as some Arsenal fans. The fees and wages being quoted were getting outrageous for a player whose 5 goals and 5 assists in La Liga last season didn't scream "break the bank for me". Was the clamour for him from the fanbase more he's not Martinelli rather than specific to Williams himself? However, there's no denying he's a talent.

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Their squad isn't filled with household names, but they exemplify a strong, cohesive unit with some sprinkling of star dust. They have Spain's number 1 in Unai Simon, who must be one helluva shot stopper to keep David Raya out of the national team. They brought back a familiar face in Laporte to help shore up the defence, though he strangely isn't registered for Europe. Make of that what you will?

 

Even though they have the Williams brothers on either wing, maybe their biggest threat comes from attacking midfielder Oihan Sancet, who was La Liga's top scoring midfielder last season with 15 goals in 29 appearances. He also bagged 2 goals in their run to the semis in Europe.

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They spent a total of £22m in the summer. Yes, £22m. £12m on right full back Areso from Osasuna and £10m on Laporte. The positive side is that they never lost any players, so they have kept the same unit intact that was successful last season. They didn't have one permanent outgoing cash sale. 

 

The clubs' incomings and outgoings are significantly influenced by their strict, unwritten "Basque-only" philosophy. This means that players must either be born in the Basque Country, have Basque parentage, or have learned their footballing skills at a club in the Basque region. This philosophy has been in place since 1912 and remains the club's guiding principle, even if not officially. It's like us applying the same principles but replacing Basque with London. Not knocking them for it. It's their tradition, etc, we get it. Must make recruiting an absolute nightmare though. Makes their success even more impressive.

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Even though we have Citeh on Sunday in another huge league game, we can see Arteta rocking his strongest available side for this one, which we have guessed accordingly below. If Nico Williams plays, the duel between him and Timber will be fascinating to watch and could be key to deciding the outcome.

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On our front, injury-wise, we want to mention a couple of players before getting into line-up permutations.

 

First up is Odegaard. He didn't travel. Readers of a certain age will remember a singer called Captain Sensible. This season, we seem to have got Captain Sensitive, some kind of weird, made of glass, doppelganger who gets a sore shoulder if the wind is howling. Where's our captain, and what have you done with him?

 

If we're seeing it and now other blogs are seeing it, you can bet Arteta is seeing it. Martin's missus must love him at home when it's dishes time. "Sorry, honey, I’d help, but you know my shoulder ....." If "man up and play 60 games", Arteta even sniffs a hint of "softness," he'll drop Odegaard faster than you can say Eberechi Eze.​

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The other side of that argument is Ben White. Once called a "mentality monster" by Rob Holding for playing with a hamstring that, according to Holdinho, was "shot to hell," he now can't get rid of the injury bug. When Timber was lost for the season on day one of 2023, Arteta played White so much that he was basically duct-taped together. As well as the hammie, he played with a knee complaint for over a year and finally went for surgery last November, which kept him out for three months.

 

Now, thanks to that superhuman effort, he's the poster boy for squad rotation, stuck on the sidelines with only one bench appearance to his name this season while his body tries to remember what it's like to be a normal human being. White is vital to the squad. He's our Timber replacement, center-half go-to if cluster injuries hit. We really want to see Arteta utilize the squad this season. He has zero excuses now for our players being injured or burnt out post-Christmas.​

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Our injury report for tonight is still no Saka, Havertz, and Gabbi Jesus; the latter isn't registered anyway. The aforementioned Ben White and Odegaard didn't travel.

 

We have Saliba and Rice returning to the starting eleven. When Odegaard missed Anfield , Merino filled in with Martinelli on the left. We expect Merino to start as the 10 again, but this time Eze will be on the left. Hopefully, we see Nordgaard on the bench for the first time. It might be the type of game where he's needed late on. ​​​​​