Arsenal arrive in Portugal on Tuesday night bruised, short-handed, but still swinging. Consecutive defeats have rattled Mikel Arteta’s side at a critical point in the season, and this first leg of their last-eight tie now carries the feel of a response mission as much as a European assignment.
Arteta, at least, has his midfield general back.
Rice returns, Zubimendi partners
Declan Rice, absent from the shock defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s, trained on Monday and is fit to start. Arsenal’s rhythm has looked fractured without him; his return alongside Martin Zubimendi in central midfield restores the structure and authority Arteta builds everything around.
The pairing offers balance: Rice’s range and recovery alongside Zubimendi’s metronomic passing. After two damaging losses, Arsenal need that control. They need someone to grip the game by the collar and slow the panic. Rice is built for exactly this kind of night.
Gabriel scare eased, defence reshaped
At the back, there was another significant sigh of relief. Gabriel, forced off in the second half at St Mary’s with ice quickly strapped to his knee, has shaken off that scare and starts at the heart of defence. He resumes his partnership with William Saliba, the axis that underpins Arsenal’s high line and aggressive press.
Jurrien Timber remains out and did not travel, so Ben White continues at right-back. On the opposite flank, Riccardo Calafiori is set to step in again with Piero Hincapie still sidelined, a reminder of how stretched Arteta’s options have become in key areas.
The defensive unit has looked unsteady in recent days. Stability now rests on familiar faces staying fit and locked in.
Saka and Timber stay home, Arteta forced to improvise
The big absentee is Bukayo Saka. The winger did not make the trip, a major blow to Arsenal’s attacking threat and their pressing game out wide. Timber also remains unavailable as he continues his recovery, robbing Arteta of another versatile option.
Arteta remains cautiously optimistic about both players’ short-term prospects, insisting he hopes to have them back for the weekend if their progress continues. Given how many “important players” he has lost in a short span, that timeline now feels crucial to the broader campaign, not just this tie.
For tonight, though, he must improvise.
Madueke handed the stage, Dowman waiting
With Saka out, Noni Madueke gets the nod on the right. It is a significant show of faith. Madueke brings direct running and unpredictability, but this is a different kind of stage: a European knockout tie, away from home, with the team under pressure and the margin for error thin.
Lurking in the background is Max Dowman. His recent form has pushed him into Arteta’s thoughts, and while he does not start, his impact from the bench could become a storyline if the game stretches or Arsenal chase a late goal. On nights like this, fresh legs and fearless minds often tilt the balance.
Gyokeres leads the line against familiar faces
Up front, Viktor Gyokeres leads the line against his former club. That alone adds an edge, but his current form sharpens it further: five goals in his last three outings for club and country underline a striker in stride, not searching.
Gyokeres offers power, movement, and a relentless work rate that can unsettle defenders. Facing old teammates and old colours, the narrative writes itself. The question is whether he can turn it into something tangible on the scoreboard.
Arsenal come into this first leg dented but not broken, missing stars yet still armed with a strong spine. In a season starting to fray at the edges, this tie offers them something simple and stark: a chance to prove that setbacks have only hardened them, or a warning that their squad depth and resilience are about to be exposed on the European stage.
