Arsenal and Lille will make a small piece of Champions League history when they meet for the first time in the competition. Lille have played 71 games in the Champions League, Arsenal 241, but the two clubs have never previously faced each other. The match kicks off at 8pm BST.
The game also marks a significant return. Olivier Giroud is back at Arsenal for the first time since he left to join Chelsea in 2020. The striker spent six years in north London, making 180 appearances and scoring 73 goals, and he turned 40 a fortnight ago. Speaking to the media before the match, he called it “a blessing”. “I had to leave in order to play at the 2018 World Cup,” Giroud said. “I was really sad when I left the club but I had to make that choice, and it was one of the toughest ones in my career, but it was important and necessary for the rest of my career.” He begins the match among the substitutes.
Arsenal have made five changes to their side, with 18-year-olds Malik Hashi and Ceadach O’Neill named on the bench. Their starting XI is: Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Guimaraes, Rice, Merino; Eze, Madueke, Kyokeres. The substitutes are Arrizabalaga, Meslier, White, Calafiori, Mosquera, Salmon, Odegaard, Hashi, Saka, Dowman, Havertz and O’Neill.
Lille line up with Ozer; Goffi, Ngoy, Alexsandro, Perraud; Mukau, Bentaleb, Andre; Bakwa, Ueda, Heraldsson. Their bench includes Gill, Sajous, Srdanović, Giroud, Sahraoui, Kjærgaard, Başar Önal, Nianzou, Verdonk, Cossier, Perrin and Diaoune. Felix Zwayer of Germany is the referee.
Lille arrive with a strong domestic record that closely mirrors Arsenal’s in the Premier League: the same number of games and the same goal difference, with Arsenal one win better off and one draw fewer. Their recent record against English opposition, however, is a concern. They have lost 10 of their last 12 matches against English teams, including each of their last seven in the Champions League.