Arsenal face Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night as the Gunners aim to maintain their 100% record in the competition
Arsenal’s grueling December schedule continues this week, with the Gunners taking on Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Gunners are currently the only team with a perfect record in the competition, winning all five of their games.
Athletic Club, Olympiakos, Atletico Madrid, Slavia Prague and Bayern Munich have all lost this season, with Mikel Arteta’s side aiming to advance to the next round. Brugge defeated AS Monaco and drew 3-3 at home with Barcelona, but are now two points out of the play-off places.
The Gunners head to Belgium facing some selection dilemmas, particularly in defence. They were left without William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães for Saturday’s game against Aston Villa.
read more: Arsenal’s next five games compared to Aston Villa and Man City as Premier League gap narrowsread more: Former Arsenal star released by Gunners after injury causes nightmares for new club
There was optimism that Saliba could feature at Villa Park, with Arteta twice saying the signing of a centre-back was “a few days” away. The same was mentioned about Leandro Trossard, with the forward scoring from the bench against Villa.
Gabriel injured his adductor muscle while playing for Brazil in a friendly against Senegal and has been sidelined since the international break. The 27-year-old remains unavailable, with Arteta admitting it is a matter for a few weeks, Football London reports.
Cristian Mosquera’s red card against Brentford last week heightened concerns about Arsenal’s defense. The absence of new players in the summer has forced Arteta to deploy Julian Timber and Piero Hincapie at centre-back for the first time at Villa.
According to reports, Mosquera is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury. With Kai Havertz also absent, Arsenal will be without four key players for their next game against Brugge, but their Belgian opponents will be in a similar predicament.
“Unfortunately he will be out for a few weeks, which is much more than we expected,” Arteta told Mosquera. “But the player was feeling it and will be out for a few weeks.”
As for Havertz, he said: “It’s a matter of a few weeks. We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. He’s doing really well and doing some things on the pitch, but I think he needs time.”
“He’s been doing everything. He hasn’t been able to take it to the next level and now we seem to have unleashed it. We’re all eager to get him. Personally, he’s a player that I love very much for what he brings to the team. His character, his personality, I see him struggling on the outside.
“His playing record is phenomenal. He’s always available and the way he’s playing now, I can’t wait to get him back in the team because I think it’ll be a big boost for the team.”
Brugge, managed by Nicky Hayen, are currently struggling for form, winning just two of their last seven games. Their recent 3-2 defeat against St. Truiden marked their fifth defeat of the league season and saw them fall from first place.
The Belgian side may be without Ludovic Reis and Lin Oudor for this match, while Nordin Jakkers and Zaid Abner Romero are confirmed to be absent.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
