Arsenal’s squad for the Champions League campaign has been named and there’s one surprising inclusion.
On Wednesday, UEFA revealed the squads for all 36 participating clubs including the four from the Premier League: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
There are not too many surprises in the Gunners’ 23-man squad with all their summer signings included, namely Neto, Tommy Setford, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Raheem Sterling.
Highly-rated youngster Ethan Nwaneri is not named though he is expected to feature in Mikel Arteta’s ‘B-list’ squad which features players aged 21 or younger.
But one name on the ‘A-list’ has raised eyebrows: Kieran Tierney.
The defender hasn’t played for Arsenal since August 2023 in the Community Shield win over City, after which he joined Real Sociedad on loan.
It was expected that he would leave the Emirates over the summer but the 27-year-old suffered a nasty hamstring injury while playing for Scotland at Euro 2024.
He is still in the recovery process and at the time of writing there is no date set for his return, but his inclusion in the UCL squad suggests it will at least be before the league phase finishes in January.
Tierney has made 124 appearances for Arsenal since joining from Celtic in 2019 but it has been clear for some time that he is not part of Arteta’s plans and will be free to leave when fully fit.
The manager said of the left-back last month: ‘He needs to focus on recovering in the best possible way, it’s been a tough time for him again with the last injury.
Arsenal Champions League squad 2024/25:
Goalkeepers: David Raya, Neto, Tommy Setford
Defenders: William Saliba, Kieran Tierney, Ben White, Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori
Midfielders: Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho, Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Declan Rice
Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli
‘We have to try to support him and make sure he gets back fit.’
The Champions League has been revamped for the 2024/25 season, with teams now playing eight matches in the new league phase, with the best performing eight clubs advancing straight to the knockouts.
Arsenal will begin their European campaign on September 19 away to Europa League winners Atalanta and face several more tricky fixtures including French champions PSG at home and Italian giants Inter Milan away.
Arsenal’s Champions League fixtures:
Atalanta (A) – September 19
PSG (H) – October 1
Shakhtar Donetsk (H) – October 22
Inter Milan (A) – November 6
Sporting Lisbon (A) – November 26
Monaco (H) – December 11
Dinamo Zagreb (H) – January 22
Girona (A) – January 29
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