Inter vs Arsenal: Champions League – live | International

The teams are out! Inter in the famous blue and black, Arsenal in the equally historic red with white sleeves. Arteta and Inzaghi hug warmly as the players shake hands. We're off and running as soon as captains Martinez and Saka exchange the aforementioned pennants.

Who had the bigger shock today? Kamala Harris or Tyrone Mings? It's Harris, isn't it, to be fair. But the Aston Villa defender did well to simply keep this particular contest close. A complete fiasco in Bruges, where he picked up the ball and conceded a penalty, meant Villa had to relinquish the top spot they held after three rounds of play. It also means both Arsenal and Inter can move past them into fourth place with a win tonight. Maybe even as far as second place, although the Gunners will need to score if they are to overtake Monaco and Sporting on goal difference.

Mikel Arteta is asked by TNT Sports if his captain Martin Ødegaard will be there tonight. “Let's see… he's only done one session… he brings a different kind of energy… we have to use him if he wants to play, so let's see how the game develops… his character and his personality… it is very important to start getting him back… we have already played with Declan Rice in other positions this season so we will adapt… Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino are both talented and physical… Mikel is a real threat in the box… Thomas can do that Breaking the game down and moving the ball forward very well… two very important players for us… we need a big one… it's a very iconic venue against a great team… we need to play a very big game… we're ready for it… on big stages like this Winning is always a big boost.”

Pennant clock. Both clubs are kept simple and have no frills; none of the elegant institutions are full of baroque frills. Credit to Arsenal for the metal track, which goes a step further than Inter's simple cable-based suspension system, but all day long a two-tone backdrop is better than plain white, allowing the hosts to win a tight and classic clash.

Arsenal make one change to the eleven used for Saturday lunchtime's unimpressive 1-0 defeat at Newcastle. Declan Rice picked up an injury and did not travel with the team in the hope of featuring against Chelsea at the weekend. Ben White comes to the side. As expected, Martin Ødegaard returns after his long injury break and takes a place on the bench.

The hosts Inter, on the other hand, are well rested. Simone Inzaghi returns five players who dropped out in Sunday's 1-0 win over Venezia. Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Davide Frattesi, Mehdi Taremi, Matteo Darmian and Yann Bisseck return to the starting eleven, while Nicolò Barella, Marcus Thuram, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco and former Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan return to the bench.

The teams

preamble