Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Arsenal welcome Shakhtar Donetsk for their 5th ever meeting with the Ukrainian side, looking to bounce back from their weekend loss.

Key Stats

• The last time these teams played each other was in the 2010/11 season
• Arsenal have always won their home games against Shakhtar Donetsk

Team Previews, Form and Standout Players - A chance at redemption?

The Gunners will be wanting to get back to winning ways as soon as possible after Saturday’s loss away to Bournemouth, and make it two wins out of three in the Champions League.

Arsenal Preview

Arsenal Predicted Line-up: David Raya; Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhães, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Declan Rice, Thomas Partey; Leandro Trossard, Mikel Merino, Raheem Sterling; Kai Havertz

When Premier League titles come down to such fine margins these days, Arsenal fans will be gutted with their result on the road to Bournemouth on the weekend. However, it was a rotated team and they were on a strong run before that fixture.

They might not be unbeaten in the league anymore, but they are in Tuesday’s competition. A win in this game could see them climb into the top eight of the group table and compete with those guaranteed knockout places.

The star man for Arsenal so far this season could arguably be Kai Kavertz with his four goals and one assist in all competitions.

Shakhtar Donetsk Preview

Shakhtar Donetsk Predicted Line-up: Dmytro Riznyk; Pedrinho, Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar, Yukhym Konoplya; Dmytro Kryskiv; Newerton, Heorhiy Sudakov, Artem Bondarenko, Oleksandr Zubkov; Eguinaldo

Last time out in the Champions League, Shakhtar lost to Atalanta and before that drew away to Bologna. Not a bad result, but that has been their only point picked up so far. They’re currently two places outside the play-off spots. A win against the Gunners seems unlikely, but if they’re ever going to make history, it could well be this week.

Georgiy Sudakov has seven goals and two assists this season from minefield, and could be the man to watch out for in the tie.

Head-to-head Stats: Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk

The last time these two sides met was in the 2010/11 Champions League campaign for the group stages. Arsenal won the tie at the Emirates 5-1, with goals from Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere, Cesc Fabregas and Maroune Chamakh but lost on the road 2-1.

This fixture has only occurred four times in football history, with each of the teams winning two games.

3rd November 2010 - Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Arsenal - UEFA Champions League

19th October 2010 - Arsenal 5-1 Shakhtar Donetsk - UEFA Champions League

7th November 2000 - Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Arsenal - UEFA Champions League

20th September 2000 - Arsenal 3-2 Shakhtar Donetsk - UEFA Champions League

Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk Prediction

We’re backing Arsenal to win both halves in the match. Through our bookmakers you can get odds of ⅚ which returns £18.33 from a £10 stake.

Arsenal are by far the superior side currently. They’ve shown that the Emirates is not a place to mess with already in Europe this season, after their 2-0 win over PSG last time out.

Shakhtar could be able to knock back a worn down side, but Arsenal and Arteta have been here before, and proven time after time that they can come back.

Final Prediction: Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Arsenal 4-0 Shakhtar Donetsk