Things might not be going their way in the Premier League at present, but Arsenal have a brilliant opportunity to rebuild some positive momentum in Europe tonight.
Mikel Arteta's side play hosts to the high-flying AS Monaco, who find themselves third in Ligue 1 and 11th in the Champions League, although a win at the Emirates would send them level on points with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
So, while the home fans might be expecting a convincing win from the Gunners, they could be in for a harder-fought affair than they're expecting, especially with the number of injury concerns the North Londoners have at present.
Arsenal-Jorginho-Trossard-Raya
That said, with how things panned out last time the two sides met in Europe's premier competition, there could be a desire for revenge...
Arsenal's last Champions League game against Monaco
So, the last time Arsenal played Monaco was in the 2023 Emirates Cup, but the last competitive game between the two teams was the second leg of a Champions League quarter-final in March 2015.
The Gunners went into the game 3-1 down on aggregate thanks to a horror show of a first leg that saw a young Anthony Martial pick up an assist in the first half and Bernardo Silva do the same in the second 45.
The North Londoners knew they had to either win 3-0 or score enough goals to come out ahead on the away goals rule.
Unfortunately, neither of those things happened, as a 36th-minute strike from Olivier Giroud and another from Aaron Ramsey in the 79th minute saw Arsène Wenger's side exit the competition courtesy of away goals.
Arsenal starting XI vs Monaco
Stade Louis II, March 17th 2015 0-2
GK
RB
CB
CB
LB
CM
CM
RW
CAM
LW
ST
So, Arteta will be hoping he fares slightly better against the French side later tonight.
Arsenal team news
Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, the only team news is bad news at the moment.
Seven players missed the open training session yesterday afternoon, and then in his press conference afterwards, Arteta confirmed that they were all doubts for tonight's clash.
"We have to manage a lot of the players, so they’re probably not going to be fit for tomorrow and are a doubt."
As if it were some cosmic joke, six of the seven who could miss out are defenders and have, at some point or another, played at full-back this season.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta before the match
We know Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are out and will likely remain so for some time, and it's now been confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori has a groin issue and Gabriel Magalhaes is suffering from a muscle problem.
riccardo-calafiori-arsenal-premier-league
Lastly, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey were part of the seven that missed training, so could well be out of action for the game as well.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Monaco
So, with the club seemingly in the midst of a defensive injury crisis, it looks like Arteta could make five changes to the lineup that drew with Fulham on Sunday.
Arsenal's injury table
Player
Tomiyasu
White
Calafiori
Gabriel
Timber
Partey
Zinchenko
There is always a chance that the Spaniard could potentially turn to the club's forgotten man, Kieran Tierney, but history tells us that's just not going to happen.
Instead, fans could see the incredibly exciting Myles Lewis-Skelly make his full Champions League debut on the left, while fellow academy gem Josh Nichols, who impressed on pre-season, could be called in as emergency cover at right-back should Timber not be fit enough to start.
Lewis-Skelly-Arsenal-Gabriel-Jesus
Given the inexperience of the full-backs, it seems almost certain that Jakub Kiwior and William Saliba will keep their places at centre-back, while Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice could keep their places in the team, with Mikel Merino stepping in for Jorginho.
Up top could see Raheem Sterling given a rare start ahead of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, who were poor at Craven Cottage, while Bukayo Saka will likely keep his place off the right, and Gabriel Jesus could get a start in the competition he produced seven goal involvements in last year.
Arsenal predicted lineup in full: Raya, Nichols, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Sterling, Jesus.
havertz-arsenal Related
Havertz upgrade: Arsenal chasing move for one of Europe's 'best young CFs'
The exceptional talent could help Arsenal become even more of an attacking threat.