The two teams, who have seven points and have not conceded a goal in their first three Champions League games, will face each other at the San Siro on Wednesday (20:00 UK) as we aim to maintain our strong recent record against Italian teams.

Following our visit to Atalanta in September, we are unbeaten in each of our last five such matches and three on our travels, including a win over AC Milan at the famous Milan stadium in 2018.

However, the Inter team is a tough opponent. The team, which has been resurgent in recent seasons, claimed its 20th Serie A title in April and the 2023 finalists are unbeaten in their 10 home matches in the Champions League. However, Mikel Arteta’s win could be crucial as we aim to finish in the top eight of the new-look competition.

Inter is finding its own rhythm

Having escaped the league last season and finishing 17 points clear, Inter’s season started slowly, winning just two of their first five league games, including a 2-1 defeat to neighbors AC Milan, their first defeat on derby day. six meetings.

But Simone Inzaghi’s side recovered from the defeat by winning five of their last six games in Italy’s top-flight league and drawing 4-4 ​​with Juventus. They beat Venezia 1-0 on Sunday to move within one point of league leaders Napoli, who they will face in a major summit clash after we meet this weekend.

After starting the league phase of the Champions League with a goalless draw at Manchester City, they defeated Red Star Belgrade 4-0. However, they needed a stoppage-time strike from this season’s top scorer Marcus Thuram to beat Young Boys in Switzerland and join us with seven points from their first three games.

What managers say

Arteta: “My blood is pumping; this is the kind of game we want to play. They came to Milan and played Inter, they were in the Champions League final two years ago, they won the Scudetto last year and we came here and said, ‘We’re going to show the team how ambitious we are now. These are the ones we want to play. matches, that’s for sure.

“(Inzaghi) has very specific ideas, especially when it comes to possession of the ball; he moves some players’ positions around to occupy different areas and that makes things challenging and unpredictable. But to be fair, we face a lot of situations in the Premier League that we have to figure out.” “There are tactical issues required and hopefully we will do that tomorrow.”

Inzaghi: “Arsenal is very well known, with a great manager like Arteta and a clear, aggressive and dynamic identity. In the last two seasons, they have competed with Manchester City, they are one of the strongest teams in Europe.

“They probably have reasons for revenge. I watched them play against Newcastle but it’s really difficult to play away against them. It was an interesting game but we know we will be facing a side that wants to put on a show.”

team news

Martin Odegaard returned to training before the match and traveled to Milan with the team; This means Arteta will evaluate him further before deciding whether he will play a role.

However, Declan Rice suffered a blow to his foot in the Newcastle game last weekend and was unable to fly. Riccardo Calafiori did not return to his country to recover from his knee injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) are out of contention.

Bastoni came off in the 70th minute of the win over Venezia but it was reported that it was just cramp and he should be back in contention, although Carlos Augusto has missed the last three league games with a muscle problem.

Marco Arnautovic has been battling an eye infection but could return, as can Canadian wing-back Tajon Buchanan, who is back in training after recovering from a broken leg. However, Kristjan Asllani has not been on stage for a month due to his knee problem.

conversation tactics

Adrian Clarke: Inzaghi is an outstanding tactician who likes to position his side in a 3-5-2. Inter Milan are hard-working and strong without the ball, and when they have it they change positions with great intelligence to help them clear threes.

Left centre-back Alessandro Bastoni is a confident defender who likes to get the ball out from the back, while Inter also have classy wing-backs: Matteo Darmian or Denzel Dumfries on the right, Federico Dimarco or Carlos Augusto on the left. Whoever starts will carry on and provide the bulk of the width for the home side.

In attack, Thuram and Lautaro Martinez have already scored 14 goals this term thanks to their clever movement and sharp finishing. However, Inzaghi’s rotation policy ensured that Iranian veteran Mehdi Taremi started all three European matches ahead of Martinez.

Another name to watch out for is Turkish midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu. He drops deep to dictate play from a lone pivot position. His passing is world-class and if we stay on a high line, the 30-year-old is capable of making dangerous long passes behind our back four.

Facts and statistics

Inter have lost just two of their last 18 Champions League matches (W10, D6), these defeats coming against Manchester City in the 2023 final and Atletico Madrid in last season’s last 16 second leg.

Over the last three seasons, Inter have kept more clean sheets than any other team in the competition (15 in 24 matches), keeping a clean sheet in five of their last six matches.

Since returning to the Champions League last season, we have won six of the nine group matches we played (D2 L1).

Only five teams have had more shots on goal than Inter (53) in the Champions League this season, but they have managed to keep three clean sheets. They have never been able to keep four consecutive trophies in their European cup history.

In the Champions League, only Atalanta (4) have had fewer shots on target than us (5) and Arsenal have kept three clean sheets so far. The last time we kept four consecutive clean sheets was in November 2007.

Inter became the team with the oldest average starting 11 in the Champions League this season, with 30 years and 139 days. They also gave the most minutes to players over the age of 30.

Since the start of the 2022/23 season, no defender has made as many assists in the Champions League as Inter’s Federico Dimarco (6).

Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer kept seven clean sheets in 10 Champions League matches with the club. This 70% clean sheet is the best among goalkeepers with more than 10 appearances for a club in the competition.

The two players who pressed with the highest intensity in the first three matchdays were Inter’s Mehdi Taremi and Kai Havertz (211 each). Havertz also had the most specific performance in the final third (92).

match officials

Istvan Kovacs will be the man in the middle at the San Siro, his only previous appointment for Arsenal coming almost exactly a year ago when he managed our 2-0 home success against Sevilla.

The Romanian referee also took responsibility for Inter, which defeated Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the last 16 match last season, and this task culminated in him handing over the referee duties of the Europa League final. He showed 49 yellow cards but did not receive a red card in 15 matches this season.

Judge: Istvan Kovacs (ROU)
Assistants: Mihai Marica, Ferencz Tunyogi (ROU)
Fourth referee: Horatiu Fesnic (ROU)
YES: Christian Dingert (GER)
Auxiliary YES: Katalin Popa (ROU)

Previous meetings

This will be our first meeting with the Nerazzurri since one of the greatest European nights in history, when we won 5-1 at the San Siro in the 2003/04 group stage and avenged a 3-0 first-leg defeat against Highbury. -The parties came together in September 2003.

But two months later Thierry Henry put us ahead, while Christian Vieri’s effort equalized for the hosts. After the restart Freddie Ljungberg put us ahead until Henry’s solo spell made it 3-1 and late strikes from Edu and Robert Pires sealed a historic victory.

Live broadcast

Live coverage of the match will be available on Arsenal.com and the official app; Just tune in five minutes before kick-off and listen to Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke tell you all the action at the San Siro.

You can also learn Which broadcaster is showing the action live? You watch wherever you are in the world.