3 Key Changes: 4-3-3 Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Napoli| UCL
Arsenal head to Italy to kick-start their 2026/27 UEFA Champions League campaign on Wednesday evening when they take on Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The Gunners maintained their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season by beating bitter London rivals Chelsea 2-1 at home on Sunday. Morgan Rogers stunned the Emirates Stadium by scoring inside two minutes, but the hosts showed great character to come back and claim all three points.
Champions League’s beaten finalists in 2025/26, Mikel Arteta and Co. will want to go one step further and claim the gold this time around. Standing in front of them in their league-phase opener is Napoli, who were beaten 3-2 in stoppage time by Inter Milan at the weekend.
Arsenal Team News
Cristhian Mosquera missed the game against Chelsea with a muscular injury and is likely to sit out the Champions League fixture too. Jurrien Timber stepped up his training last week after recovering from a minor surgery, and it would appear a return to action is not too far away.
Bruno Guimaraes shrugged off a minor groin problem to become a part of the Gunners’ squad, although he remained an unused substitute vs. Chelsea.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Napoli (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
David Raya was beaten for the first time this season in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea. The Spaniard remains the club’s undisputed No.1 and should start in Naples.
Defence
With Mosquera unavailable, Ezri Konsa made his first start for the Gunners alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in the centre of defence on Sunday. They are primed to start again in the Arsenal lineup.
Ben White is set to continue at right-back, but Arteta might give Piero Hincapie the nod over Riccardo Calafiori on the opposite side. The Arsenal backline have to be sharp and focused throughout the 90 minutes to contain a dangerous Napoli attack.
Midfield
Declan Rice overcame a niggle to start against Chelsea and delivered a strong performance. The England international is expected to continue anchoring Arsenal’s midfield.
Martin Zubimendi may be preferred centrally over the exciting academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly if Arteta rotates his squad, with skipper Martin Odegaard bringing invention and guile to the Arsenal lineup.
Bruno Guimaraes and Mikel Merino could be brought on in the second half to add steel and energy to the visitors’ midfield.
Attack
Kai Havertz has started the campaign strongly and scored the equaliser against his former club on Sunday. The German attacker is poised to continue leading the attack for the Gunners, but Eberechi Eze could be preferred over Christos Tzolis on the left flank in the Arsenal lineup.
Bukayo Saka’s guile, directness and movement from the opposite end will be a cause of concern for Napoli’s backline.
The likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Tzolis are fantastic attacking options to bring off the bench against an eventually tiring Napoli side.
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3 Key Changes: 4-3-3 Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Napoli| UCL 1