Monaco did Arsenal no favours and no shortage of theatre either. Tuesday's draw for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase has thrown up Real Madrid at home, Bayern Munich away, and six others to fill out the eight-game slog before the knockouts even start.
That's the mouthwatering end of the fixture list settled. In his Athletic column, the writer notes Arsenal get Napoli away too, which alongside Real Madrid and Bayern gives Arteta's side about as tough a top-half draw as the pot allowed. Martin Keown's already excited about it, and you can see why. This is a squad that went all the way to a final on penalties last season. A trip to the Bernabéu carries a different weight this time round.
None of that matters for a few days yet, because Monday night's business is Villa Park. Arteta's press conference gave real clarity on who's actually available. Bruno Guimarães has trained and is "potentially available" having been forced off in the Community Shield, though the club are clearly still managing him carefully. Ezri Konsa, signed from Villa themselves for £51m plus £4m in add-ons, is in line to face his old club straight away. Gabriel Jesus wasn't out with the first team on Thursday, which tells its own story.
Reiss Nelson's Arsenal career is over. The club and the 26-year-old have mutually agreed to tear up his contract a year early, and he's now a free agent with West Ham reportedly among the suitors. He never quite forced his way into the picture consistently enough, and letting him leave for nothing rather than running his deal down feels like the sensible call for both parties, if a slightly unusual one for Arsenal to sanction on their own terms.
There's a footnote worth flagging on the Alvarez saga too. Arteta batted away questions on it at the presser with a flat "don't go there", which is normally as good a sign as any that there's genuine substance underneath. Nothing concrete yet, but I wouldn't expect the silence to last much longer.
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