Arsenal’s Path to Redemption Begins in Naples

Arsenal’s road back to redemption starts in Naples on Wednesday night, with Mikel Arteta ready to lean on the depth that carried his side so close to glory last season.

The Gunners were flawless in the league phase of this competition last year, winning all eight matches and refusing to lose inside 90 minutes at any stage. They dragged Paris Saint-Germain all the way to penalties in the final in Budapest and still walked away empty-handed. That scar tissue lingers. So does the belief.

Now comes the attempt to go one better.

Arteta ready to shuffle a loaded pack

Arteta arrives in Italy with an unusually powerful hand. Arsenal’s squad looks stacked, and this feels like a night to show it.

Bruno Guimaraes, who carried a knock into the weekend, did not play a single minute in the win over Chelsea. That absence opens the door for Martin Zubimendi to anchor the midfield, offering fresh legs and a different rhythm in the centre of the pitch.

Higher up, the competition for places sharpens. Eberechi Eze will be pushing hard for a start on the left wing, the kind of game that suits his ability to drift inside and unlock tight defences. Through the middle, Viktor Gyokeres is in line for his first start of the season if Arteta chooses to manage Kai Havertz’s workload after a busy run.

This is not rotation for the sake of it. It is a manager using the depth he has fought to assemble.

Defensive puzzle in front of a hostile crowd

At the back, Arsenal’s options are more constrained.

William Saliba remains out with a long-term back injury, a major pillar of the defence still missing. Jurrien Timber is edging closer to a return but has yet to play a single minute this season. Cristhian Mosquera is a doubt with a muscle problem, another question mark in an already stretched department.

All of that points to Ezri Konsa once again partnering Gabriel at centre-back, just as he did in the composed, controlled win over Chelsea on Sunday. The chemistry looked good. The test in Naples will be fiercer.

If Arteta makes a change, it is most likely to come at left-back. Riccardo Calafiori has been superb in the opening weeks of the campaign, aggressive on the front foot and tidy in possession, but his Arsenal career has been repeatedly interrupted by injuries. The staff will not want to push him too far, too soon.

That is where Piero Hincapie comes in. He was the only defender on the bench against Chelsea and stands as the obvious candidate to step into the starting XI in Naples. A left-footed option, comfortable in a back four or sliding across in build-up, he offers Arteta a way to protect Calafiori without weakening the structure.

Arsenal arrive in southern Italy with the memory of Budapest still sharp and a squad built to make sure they do not fall just short again. The question now is simple: with this depth, and this platform, can they finally finish the job?