Arteta believes Arsenal can compete with any opponent despite personnel losses

Last season, Arsenal often struggled with injuries, losing key players from the squad. This campaign, history is repeating itself, as several leading players will miss the Champions League clash against Athletic Bilbao. However, head coach Mikel Arteta remains undaunted.

Details: Against the Basques, the Spaniard will be without Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus. Yet, Arteta believes that even such a challenging personnel situation gives Arsenal the chance to compete with any opponent.

Quote: "We realized last season that we are good enough, that we can compete with any opponent. But two factors are crucial: first, having a full squad available at decisive moments in the season, and second, making sure the ball finds the net at the right time—because the margins are so fine.

When we lost eight or nine key players and had to go into games with just 13 first-teamers, it was extremely tough. But even under those circumstances, we performed very well and came very close to the final—it was just a matter of luck not being on our side," Arteta stated.