Overview
Arsenal reached the Champions League 2025-2026 final but lost to PSG on penalties. Mikel Arteta's team will return to the tournament with the goal of taking one step further and completing the unfinished journey.
Napoli again had unhappy memories in the Champions League last season. They only won 8 points after 8 matches in the group stage, lost 4 matches and could not qualify for the next round.
Last season, Inter, Juventus and Atalanta also failed to pass the round of 16. Napoli will want to change the performance of Serie A representatives in this season's Champions League, but the current start has not brought many positive signs.
After a 2-0 victory over Genoa in the opening match of Serie A, Napoli continuously lost to Como and Inter. The most regrettable was the match against Inter, when they led 2-0 thanks to goals from Matteo Politano and Rasmus Hojlund but in the end let the opponent come back to win 3-2.
In contrast to Napoli, Arsenal is maintaining a winning streak since the beginning of the season. After defeating Man City 3-0 to win the English Super Cup, they successively surpassed Coventry, Aston Villa and Chelsea in the Premier League.
Arsenal also possesses a very solid defensive foundation. Last season, despite playing 15 Champions League matches and reaching the final, they only conceded 7 goals, the fewest among participating teams. The expected goals conceded by Arsenal on average per match is also only at 0.9.
Arteta's team kept a clean sheet against Coventry and Aston Villa, before facing challenges from Chelsea. Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead in the second minute, but Arsenal quickly responded. Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard scored in turn to help the away team win 2-1.
Odegaard is showing signs of regaining his best form. The Arsenal captain has scored 3 goals in 4 appearances this season, while last season he only had one goal after 36 matches.
Arsenal is also having an impressive record in the opening matches of the season. They have won all 3 of their first Premier League matches and conceded only 1 goal. This is only the third time in Arsenal's history to achieve this record, after the 1924-1925 season and the unbeaten 2003-2004 season.
Arsenal's scoring form is also maintained as they have scored in 14 consecutive matches in all competitions. However, they will have to adapt to the departure of Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal's top scorer in the Champions League last season, after this player moved to Al Hilal.
The defense is also an issue that Arteta needs to consider. Ezri Konsa is likely to continue to start after his debut against Chelsea, in the context that Jurrien Timber and Cristhian Mosquera are still being assessed for injury status. William Saliba is also on a long-term leave after a back injury at the World Cup.
Head-to-head record
This is only the fifth time Napoli and Arsenal have faced each other, and also the first time the two teams have reunited since the quarter-finals of the 2018-2019 Europa League season.
Arsenal have won 3 of their last 4 encounters and kept a clean sheet in all 3 of those victories.
Score prediction: Napoli 0-2 Arsenal
The match between Napoli and Arsenal takes place at 2:00 AM on September 10th (Vietnam time).
