Arsenal Faces Travel Chaos Ahead of Champions League Opener in Naples
Arsenal’s plans for their Champions League opener in Naples were thrown off course on Tuesday as the club found themselves stuck in the UK’s air-traffic chaos.
Mikel Arteta and his squad were forced to sit tight at their Hertfordshire training base after their flight to Italy was severely delayed, wiping out the manager’s traditional pre-match media duties at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The players completed their morning session as scheduled, then waited. And waited. By the time it became clear the disruption would drag on, Arsenal had already agreed with Uefa that their mandatory press conference could be scrapped. The only change, the club insisted, was their later-than-planned arrival at the team hotel. The preparation, they stressed, stayed intact. The clock simply shifted.
Supporters heading to Naples were caught in the same travel mess, adding another layer of frustration to what should have been a straightforward build-up to one of the standout fixtures of the opening round.
Timber back on European duty
There was at least one major positive for Arsenal amid the delays. Jurriën Timber is set to be named in a matchday squad for the first time since the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on 30 May, the defender finally over the groin injury that has stalked him since March.
The problem cost the Netherlands international his World Cup and a chunk of his first full pre-season under Arteta, but the manager had hinted before Sunday’s win over Chelsea that Timber was close. Now, in one of Europe’s most hostile arenas, comes the moment of return.
Cristhian Mosquera remains sidelined with a muscle issue, yet Arteta has turned to youth to fill out his travelling party. Marli Salmon, the 17-year-old defender who signed his first professional contract last month, is included in the 23-man group and could taste Champions League matchday life at one of its most febrile venues.
Arsenal arrive in Europe with numbers that underline their growing stature. They won all eight of their group-stage matches last season en route to the final and have lost only one of their last 12 away games in the competition. Domestically, they have started the Premier League campaign with a perfect record.
Arteta, though, is in no mood to let those figures seep into complacency.
“That puts us in a really good situation. The energy and the confidence around the team is high – now we have to show that,” he said. He knows what awaits in Naples. “I’ve been in that stadium before, I know the atmosphere they create. The record at home is really, really strong. We know the challenge ahead. We are prepared and we’re ready to go.”
Allegri’s Napoli searching for a spark
On the other side, Napoli step into the competition under a new-old face with something to prove. Massimiliano Allegri, back in the Champions League dugout for the first time in four years, has endured a stuttering start in Serie A after the club finished runners-up to Inter last season.
The squad still carries serious talent. Kevin De Bruyne is expected to feature against Arsenal, offering the kind of creative threat that can tilt any European night. Yet Allegri must cope without Scott McTominay, who underwent a successful procedure to treat an irregular heartbeat and is expected to return to training in two weeks.
Napoli are also likely to miss André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, the influential former Fulham midfielder whose absence strips some bite and control from their engine room at precisely the moment Allegri needs stability.
The coach understands the stakes, and the city’s temperature.
“People in this town have passion for the team, we have to start winning games again,” he said. “We know we are challenging a very strong team – Arteta has done extraordinary things. Let’s face it with pride and desire.”
So Arsenal, delayed but undeterred, land in a city that demands a response from its own side and relishes unsettling visitors. They bring perfect form, a returning defender, and a manager who has already heard the roar of this stadium. Now comes the question that matters: can they keep their flawless start intact in one of the few places in Europe where even the air feels like pressure?
