Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season in their 11th match. They look eager to bounce back in front of their fans against relatively weaker Shakhtar Donetsk, who have yet to score in the current Champions League campaign.
Against Atalanta (0:0) and Paris Saint-Germain (2:0), Arsenal were defensively solid: David Raya saved a penalty against the Italian side, while against PSG they allowed only 0.38 xGA. In the absence of Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard have stepped up in Mikel Arteta’s system—both contributed to the opening goal against PSG. It’s clear that the London club aims to reach the top 8 group stage and needs to build up points against mid-table and lower-ranked teams.
Shakhtar Donetsk struggled in both halves against Atalanta (0:3) in a neutral venue in Gelsenkirchen after having just one real chance against Bologna (0:0), where Georgiy Sudakov missed a penalty. Atalanta’s players scored three goals in 27 minutes, and disparities in xG (0.26 vs 2.07) and shots (6-22) left the fans disheartened. Over the weekend, Shakhtar Donetsk barely edged past Kolos Kovalivka (1:0)—the burden of competing in two parallel tournaments affects their results.
At the Emirates, Arsenal are expected to secure a routine and convincing victory. Shakhtar Donetsk are not a genuine contender against one of the Premier League's favourites, and this will be evident throughout the match.
