Headline fixture of Matchday 2: Arsenal vs Dundalk
Arsenal will return to action in the UEFA Europa League this Thursday, taking on Dundalk in what should be an interesting Matchday 2 fixture. This will be the Gunners first European home game this season and will be looking to record their second straight victory in this competition. However, a lot is on the line for Arteta's men.
Failure to win would not mark the end of their Europa League campaign but it could be another huge blow to the confidence the Gunners entered the season with. After their FA Cup and Community Cup wins, many began expecting the north London giants to go from strength to strength under Arteta. However, their recent results show that they remain a working progress.
Arsenal head into this tie on the back of consecutive Premier League defeats, losing 1-0 both away to Man City and at home to Leicester. In between these results was a 2-1 victory over Rapid Wien but even in that fixture, the same issue persisted and that was a lack of creativity. It will be interesting to see whether Arteta can find a solution for this issue on Thursday as this is the perfect game to experiment.
Key talking points
Will AC Milan bounce back after losing perfect record?
After Aston Villa lost 3-0 to Leeds in the EPL, AC Milan were left as the only top European club with a perfect record in 2020/21. Unfortunately, that run came to an end on Monday when the Italian giants faced Roma. The Rossoneri drew 3-3 in what was a controversial showdown due to poor officiating. Will Ibrahimovic and Co. bounce back when they host Sparta Praha? Tune in to find out.
Who will win the highly-anticipated encounter between Real Sociedad and Napoli?
Real Sociedad and Napoli are set to lock horns in what is a clash between two of Spain's and Italy's top clubs. This will be the first encounter between these two clubs so it will be interesting to see who triumphs. Gattuso's men fell to a frustrating defeat in the opening round, losing 1-0 to AZ Alkmaar but will be keen on bouncing back.
Team news
Here are the key players who are definitely missing due to injury, suspension, or could be in doubt due to fitness or other issues and thus could miss out on upcoming matches for their respective sides heading into matchday 2:
Arsenal: David Luiz, Gabriel Martinelli, Pablo Mari, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers, Mesut Ozil, Soktatis, Walliam Saliba, Willian (doubtful)
Tottenham: Japhet Tanganga, Joe Rodon, Steven Bergwijn (doubtful), Serge Aurier (doubtful)
Lille: No missing players
Celtic: James Forrest, Michael Johnston, Christopher Jullien, Nir Bitton, Hatem Elhamed, Vasilios Barkas (doubtful)
Leicester: Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu, Wilfried Ndidi, Daniel Amartey, Islam Slimani
Real Sociedad: Asier Illarramendi, Luca Sangalli, Igor Zubeldia (doubtful), Ander Barrenetxea (doubtful), Joseba Zaldua (doubtful)
Napoli: Eljif Elmas (doubtful), Piotr Zielinski (doubtful)
Matchday 2 listings
Below are the fixtures set to take place on matchday 2:
