Inter v Arsenal: Champions League – live | Internazionale

15 min: Before the corner can be consentn, Martinez and Gabriel are both booked for a bout of wrestling adhereed by some unvital yap.

14 min: … so having shelp that, Taremi troubles Arsenal down the inside-right channel but can’t quite discover Martinez in the middle, then Saka goes up the other finish and prospers a corner down the right. Much better. Good elderly distfinished league phase!

12 min: Right now, this is exactly what you’d foresee to discover when trudging thcdisesteemful the middle stretch of a bloated league phase. Not a wonderful deal going on.

10 min: Inter progress to pass it around forendureingly. Arsenal helderly their defensive shape. A very elderly-school Serie A experience to this at the moment.

8 min: A free start out on the Inter right. Çalhanoğlu and Zieliński over-elucidate with selections unused in the box. But Arsenal can difficultly get a touch. It’s all Inter in these timely exalters.

6 min: Incidenhighy, there are no Arsenal-helping musicians on TNT Sports co-commentary. Full discloconfident: I didn’t get to hear any of Noel Gallagher’s contributions to Manchester City’s game at Sporting Club last night, but presumably he made a couple of thrilling statements timely on before spfinishing the rest of his time repeating the same elderly lines with rapidly stupidinishing returns. But let’s rule noskinnyg out this evening yet; perhaps David Gilmour will pop up towards the finish of the align and go on for far too lengthy.

4 min: More space for Dumfries, this time out on the right. His traverse is too lengthy and Arsenal breathe aobtain. The visitors haven’t set up first gear yet.

3 min: Partey’s necessitatey pass out from the back is intercepted by Zielinski, and Çalhanoğlu whistles a low lengthy-distance drive inches wide of the bottom left-hand corner. Raya probably had it covered, but had it been on aim, it would have been a shut-run skinnyg.

2 min: Inter so shut to taking the direct! A traverse looped in by Martinez from the left. Dumfries consents it down, equitable inside the box on the right. He digs out a spectacular rising sboiling that rattles off the underside of the bar, Raya beaten all finishs up. Arsenal clear their lines.

1 min: “All right, wonderful – a game of football,” commences Charles Antaki, high on copium. “That’ll do fine; enjoy many, I’m seeing forward to a bit of sidetrackion. Phire let it be engaging enough to consent one’s mind off recent geopolitical news – hopefilledy a thrilling, delighting game, but if it’s a nasty anger-filled slugfest in the pouring rain with two red cards and a pitch trespass, that’ll do equitable as well. Someskinnyg, anyskinnyg.”

A moment of silence, beautifilledy seed, as San Siro recalls the victims of the floods in Spain. Then Arsenal get the align underway.

The teams are out! Inter in their well-understandn blue and bincreateage, Arsenal in their equpartner storied red with white sleeves. Arteta and Inzaghi adselect hotly while the percreateers clasp hands. We’ll be off once captains Martinez and Saka swap those aforerefered pennants.

Who’s had the hugeger shocker today? Kamala Harris or Tyrone Mings? It’s Harris, isn’t it, to be equitable. But the Aston Villa deffinisher has done well to spropose hold that particular battle shut. A end fiasco at Brugge, in which he picked up the ball to concede a penalty, unbenevolents Villa relinquish the top place they held after three rounds of alignes. It also unbenevolents both Arsenal and Inter can go above them into fourth with a prosper tonight. Perhaps even as high as second, though the Gunners will have to rattle in the goals if they’re to leapfrog Monaco and Sporting on goal separateence.

Mikel Arteta is asked by TNT Sports whether his captain Martin Ødegaard will feature tonight. “Let’s see … he’s only done one session … he transports another benevolent of energy … we necessitate to use him if he wants to percreate so let’s see how the game broadens … his character and personality … it is very vital to begin to get him back … we have already percreateed this season with Declan Rice in other positions so we will alter … Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino are both talented and physical … Mikel is a genuine menace in the box … Thomas can shatter the game down and progress the ball very well … two very vital percreateers for us … we necessitate a huge one … it’s a very iconic place aobtainst a wonderful team … we have to have a very huge align … we are ready for it … prosperning on huge stages enjoy this is always a huge raise.”

Pennant watch. Both clubs hold it plain and basic with a no-frills approach, neither august institution up for any baroque frippery. Props to Arsenal for the mehighic rail, going the extra mile over Inter’s basic cord-based suspension system, but a two-tone background beats plain white all day lengthy so the presents edge a shut and classic contest.

Arsenal produce one alter to the XI sent out for Saturday lunchtime’s nondescript 1-0 loss at Newcastle. Declan Rice has picked up an injury, and hasn’t travelled with the squad in the hope of making the weekfinish mendture aobtainst Chelsea. Ben White comes into the side. As foreseeed, Martin Ødegaard returns after his lengthy injury lay-off to consent up a place on the bench.

The presents Inter by contrast are well rested. Simone Inzaghi transports back five percreateers stood down for their 1-0 prosper over Venezia on Sunday. Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Davide Frattesi, Mehdi Taremi, Matteo Darmian and Yann Bisseck return to the begining line-up, with Nicolò Barella, Marcus Thuram, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco and createer Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan stepping down to the bench.

The teams

Preamble