Ernesto Valverde had a lot to say about Arsenal ahead of Tuesday evening’s Champions League match between Mikel Arteta’s team and Athletic Club.
The Gunners travel to the Basque Country to take on the Bilbao side in the curtain raiser of Europe’s elite competition for this campaign.
Arsenal eased past Nottingham Forest on the weekend, but they face a much more challenging test in Northern Spain on Tuesday.
The encounter will mark Athletic Club’s first Champions League game since the 2014/15 season, when they were eliminated in the group stage, and thus, Valverde’s outfit will be fired up and raring to go.
What Ernesto Valverde said about Arsenal and Mikel Arteta before Athletic Club clash
Arsenal will be hoping to go one step further than they did last season in the Champions League and reach their first final in the competition since 2006 this term.
This will require the Gunners picking up points in some of their more winnable League Phase matches, including in Bilbao, with tests against the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to come.
However, the North Londoners take on Manchester City at the weekend, and thus, Arteta may opt to rest several key players for this game.
That said, Arsenal can’t afford to take Valverde’s team lightly. The Basque side have won three of their opening four La Liga games.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Valverde made it clear that his team certainly won’t take Arsenal lightly, with the veteran manager waxing lyrical about Arteta.
“He’s one of the best coaches in the world, and he’s showing what he can do at Arsenal,” Valverde said.
“He’s got great players, but you have to look at what they’re doing and how they play.
“They don’t let you play, they press in every duel, they insist, and it’s hard to press them. They’re a team with a stamp on them, and that stamp is Arteta.”
Arteta will not only be flattered by this praise from his managerial counterpart, but will also be delighted that it means Athletic Club will respect his team.
This praise from Valverde likely means the Spanish side will sit off Arsenal, allowing Arteta to enact his control tactics more easily.
Arsenal should make changes to their back four against Athletic Club
Arteta will likely want to select a front three of Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke once again, as he looks for the trio to build chemistry.
However, the Spaniard could make changes further back on the pitch.
The Gunners invested heavily in their defence over the summer, bolstering this department to enable Arteta to rotate frequently among them.
Piero Hincapie signed from Bayer Leverkusen on deadline day, and could be in line for his debut, with Gabriel Magalhaes potentially in need of a rest.
Meanwhile, Myles Lewis-Skelly needs minutes after not starting a single match this season, and William Saliba could return to the side after returning to training at the end of last week.
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