Arsenal have embarked on their UEFA Champions League journey with a sense of determination and flair. As they gear up for their next clash, they stand as firm favourites to secure victory against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates. Bookies Betfred have the Gunners priced as the favourites at 1/8 while Donetsk are 22/1 outsiders and a draw is 15/2.
The Gunners' European campaign had a dramatic start with a tense encounter against Atalanta. The match saw goalkeeper David Raya emerge as a hero, making a pivotal penalty save that allowed Arsenal to escape with a draw. Returning to familiar territory, Arsenal showcased their prowess by convincingly overcoming PSG in front of their home fans.
Despite experiencing a hiccup in the Premier League with a 2-0 loss to Bournemouth over the weekend, Mikel Arteta's squad is driven to bounce back and clinch three points against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Shakhtar Donetsk, once a notable force in European football, have faced significant hurdles due to the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine. Their Champions League journey began with a hard-earned draw against Bologna on foreign soil, which offered a glimmer of hope. However, their next outing was less fortunate, as they were comprehensively defeated by Atalanta, who secured a 3-0 win in Germany.
As Arsenal prepare for the upcoming fixture, they are keen to harness their impressive European form to rebuild momentum and continue their pursuit of Champions League glory. With the home crowd behind them and lessons learned from recent challenges, the Gunners are poised to press forward with ambition and resilience.
Key Players for Arsenal
Mikel Arteta must field a strong lineup to secure victory against Shakhtar Donetsk and get back to winning ways after their loss to Bournemouth. While some starting lineup choices are obvious, there are a few key players who are non-negotiable for Arsenal in this match.
David Raya
Arsenal is one of just six clubs yet to concede a goal in the UEFA Champions League, and David Raya is largely responsible for this. He produced a great double save from the spot against Atalanta in matchday 1, then made two saves against Paris Saint-German in matchday 2. As the strongest goalkeeper option for Arsenal, David Raya is a non-negotiable starter.
William Saliba
William Saliba was shown a red card at the weekend. However, his suspension does not apply to the UEFA Champions League. As one of the best defenders in the world, he is bound to start.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Whenever William Saliba starts, so too does Gabriel Magalhaes. Acting as a leader in the loss against Bournemouth, he will be more eager than most to beat Shakhtar Donetsk.
Riccardo Calafiori
After Jakub Kiwior's display at the weekend, Arsenal fans would not feel assured seeing him in the starting lineup. Since making his full debut, Riccardo Calafiori has become indispensable. An argument could be made that he'd benefit from resting, but Arsenal would benefit more from playing him. For certain, Calafiori deserves to keep his spot in the starting lineup against Shakhtar.
Declan Rice
Arsenal's engine. Without Declan Rice, Arsenal lack that cutting edge in the midfield. As a player for the big occasion, Rice was built for games as big as this. He will certainly start tonight.
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz has been one of Arsenal's best performers this season. This was demonstrated when he scored in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain. As one of the players who has won the Champions League in the past, it's a competition he's always favoured to start in.
How to Watch Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk
The Gunners take on Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Emirates Stadium in London, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. BST local time in the UK. That makes it a 3 p.m. ET or 12 p.m. PT kickoff in the US and Canada, and a 6 a.m. AEDT start in Australia on Wednesday morning.
Where to Watch in the US
American soccer fans can stream every fixture of this season's tournament via Paramount Plus, which has exclusive live English-language broadcast rights in the US for the UEFA Champions League. Paramount Plus has two main subscription plans in the US: Essential for $8 per month and Premium for $13 per month. Both offer coverage of the Champions League. The cheaper Essential option has ads for on-demand streaming and lacks live CBS feeds as well as the ability to download shows to watch offline later. Newcomers to the service can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, while students may qualify for a 25% discount.
Where to Watch in the UK
Along with the shake-up of the Champions League format, the new season brings with it some changes to how to watch UCL games in the UK. TNT Sports will continue to broadcast the majority of Champions League games, but Amazon Prime Video now has first pick for games on a Tuesday, with one per match week being shown exclusively live on the platform. This match is the streaming service's selection for Gameweek 3. Prime Video standalone subscriptions start at £9 a month or £95 per year in the UK and includes access to Prime Video's content library of shows such as A Very Royal Scandal, Reacher, The Boys and more, as well as live Champions League action. The service is also included with a Prime membership.
Where to Watch in Canada
If you want to stream UCL games live in Canada, you'll need to subscribe to DAZN Canada. The service has exclusive broadcast rights to the Champions League this season. A DAZN subscription currently costs CA$30 a month or CA$200 a year and will also give you access to Europa League and EFL Championship soccer, Six Nations rugby and WTA tennis.
Where to Watch in Australia
Football fans Down Under can watch UCL matches on streaming service Stan Sport, which has exclusive rights to show the Champions League live in Australia this season. Stan Sport will set you back AU$10 per month (on top of a AU$10 Stan subscription), but the streaming service is currently offering a seven-day free trial. A subscription will also give you access to Europa League and Europa Conference League action, as well as international rugby and Formula E.
The History of Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk
Arsenal have played Shakhtar Donetsk four times in total, all four games coming in the Champions League – and all four games have been won by the home team… Now I am going to admit from the start I am not fully au fait with the situation in Ukraine vis a vis football, following the Russian invasion, so if I have got anything in what follows wrong, I’d welcome polite corrections and if possible English sources for the information being used. But for now I’ll do my best and at least we can start with something fairly solid by way of information…
For surely from our point of view their most famous player was Henrikh Mkhitaryan who played for Arsenal between 2018 and 2020. He is currently with Inter Milan having played 35 games for Arsenal scoring eight goals. He has played 95 times for Armenia.
But of course we do have the results of the previous games between the two sides…
And the interesting thing is that in our visitors recent games there have been a fair few goals – in the last five games alone for example 16 goals. Three of the games were victories (by 4-0, 5-0 and 1-0) and one defeat and a draw…
But their league looks very different from the sort of thing we see in England, not least because we are playing a club from a country that is of course at war. In its earliest days the club played in the Russian league being based in the city of Donetsk as you would expect until 2014. But then the Russian invasion forced it to move to Lviv and then Kharkiv, and if I read the history aright, then back to Lviv. That means they are playing 1000 miles from their main home.
After the country gained independence Shakhtar Donestsk was the first Ukraine club to win a European competition and is one of only two (the other being Dynamo Kviv to have won one of the main Uefa competitions. However, since the Russian invasion, the club has been forced to move twice.
From 2014 until the end of 2016, Shakhtar played its home matches at the Arena. Then it moved a couple of hundred miles to Kharkiv and in 2022/23 was forced to play its European games in Warsaw. As I understand it they played their Champions League games last season in Hamburg.
Meanwhile as we have noted before the table for the Champions League is crazy, as is the whole system of the way it is organised this season, with selected teams playing each other once. But that’s Uefa for you. Basically Arsenal are placed 13th with one win and one draw, while Shakhtar are placed 27th with one draw and one defeat.
Arsenal’s situation is two goals scored and none conceded. Shakter’s is no goals scored and three conceded. According to Arsenal.com “No team has scored more goals than Shakhtar (25) in the (Ukrainian league) this season.”
The Match Preview
Arsenal will be hoping to put their weekend defeat behind them as they host the Ukrainian champions. Having lost ground in their challenge for the English Premier League title on Saturday, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be expecting his side to make amends in this UEFA Champions League match as they host Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners' surprise defeat away to Bournemouth, which saw William Saliba controversially sent off, could see Arteta shuffle his pack for this game. Injured duo Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are both not expected to be fit in time to feature. The north Londoners face a Shakhtar side that have yet to score in the Champions League this season, having played out a goalless draw with Bologna in their opening fixture before being thrashed 3-0 by Atalanta last time out.
Conclusion
While Shakhtar Donetsk is a formidable opponent, Arsenal's strong European form and home advantage give them a significant edge. With key players ready to make their mark, Arsenal is looking to bounce back from their Premier League loss with a resounding victory. It's a match that promises to be a thrilling encounter, and Arsenal fans will be hoping their team can deliver a dominant performance and secure an important three points.
