Arsenal’s Champions League campaign is set to get underway on Tuesday night in Bilbao.
The Gunners face Athletic Club in their first Champions League test of the season, with a return to the Basque Country on the cards for natives Mikel Arteta, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi.
It’ll also be a return to the region for former Real Sociedad players Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino, with an essence of Basque rivalry there for several Gunners.
Even before kick-off, Arsenal have been handed a slight boost, with Bilbao’s star player Nico Williams set to miss the game.
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Joseba Etxeberria says Athletic Club’s home advantage could defeat Arsenal
It was only in the summer that Arsenal beat Athletic Club, winning 3-0 in a pre-season friendly at the Emirates.
It’ll be an entirely different standard when second in the Premier League and fourth in La Liga go head to head on night one of the Champions League, though Arsenal are considered the favourites.
That being said, those in Bilbao aren’t ready to take the underdog title, as Athletic Club legend Joseba Etxeberria said when previewing the match.
Etxeberria, who made 503 appearances for the Basque club, told Basque newspaper Deia that Arsenal present a difficult challenge, but that doesn’t mean to say the hosts won’t have the answers.
“It’s very difficult, because they’re a team with very clear mechanisms. They’re a very dominant team, very well-developed,” Etxeberria said of Arsenal.
“They’ve perfectly executed Arteta’s approach because they’re a team that can really hurt you with positional attacks when they’re in the opponent’s half. But at the same time, they mount extremely fast counterattacks.
“They’re a great team. But I think Athletic have a lot of arguments, especially at San Mames, and they’ll have a chance to win.”
Etxeberria was eager to stress the significance of Arsenal visiting the Estadio de San Mames, rather than Athletic Club visiting the Emirates.
“You have to be aware that Arsenal is a more powerful team than Athletic, but is everything, and you never know what can happen.”
Despite understanding the threat Arsenal can pose, there’s no sign of a lack of belief in Bilbao.
Athletic Club’s record against English clubs
Bilbao played Manchester United in the Europa League last season, losing 7-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
The Basque club will certainly hope for a better result against Arsenal, but their record against English clubs doesn’t exactly make for encouraging reading.
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % |
| 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 30% |
Stranger things have happened in football than the underdog defying the odds, and Arteta certainly won’t want to take any chances.
Arsenal have some significant challenges in the league phase of the tournament to come, including clashes against Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
There’s nothing in European football more magical than a Champions League night, with the tournament kicking off for the Gunners in Bilbao.
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