Arsenal are preparing to face Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The disappointment of Saturday evening’s defeat to Bournemouth must be forgotten as Arsenal return to action in Europe.
The Gunners will hope to build on their 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on matchday two of the Champions League, with Shakhtar up next.
Mikel Arteta will require his side to up their performance level after the lacklustre display at the Vitality, with one manager providing some inspiration for the Arsenal boss.
Arsenal must take inspiration from Gian Piero Gasperini against Shakhtar Donetsk
It’s been a trialling start to the tournament for Shakhtar, who drew 0-0 with Bologna before being beaten 3-0 by Atalanta.
Arsenal drew 0-0 with the Italian side, knowing just how tough Gian Piero Gasperini’s side is to break down.
With the upcoming tussle with the Ukrainian club in mind, Arteta should seek some inspiration from Gasperini, who made some bold decisions to get the win over Shakhtar last time out.
Speaking to Sky Sports before the game, via TuttoMercatoWeb, the Italian coach noticed that he needed to flex the attacking prowess of his side to cause Shakhtar problems.
“We’ve always had some good performances. We got the second half wrong against Como, I liked the first half with Bologna too, we always created a lot of opportunities and just need to be more clinical,” Gasperini said.
After making tweaks to his lineup, Atalanta won 3-0, finishing the chances that were missed in their games prior against Como and Bologna.
Arteta approaches the game in a similar scenario with Arsenal, as the Gunners were stale in attack against Bournemouth and not as clinical as hoped in the first half against Southampton.
If inspiration is required, the Spaniard should look no further than the changes that Gasperini made at Atalanta prior to their win over Tuesday’s opponents.
Arsenal team news vs Shakhtar Donetsk
There are three key doubts for Arsenal’s duel with Shakhtar, with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber still nursing injuries.
Arteta confirmed that while Saka and Odegaard are close to returning, the captain is not in contention to feature against the Ukrainians.
There remains some uncertainty over the winger and Timber’s fitness, as Arteta was unable to give an answer on the likelihood of the duo making an appearance on Tuesday night.
As a result, the plan to bolster the attack could be difficult although, the manager could now put his adaptability to the test to right Arsenal’s wrongs against Shakhtar.
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