Arsenal Faces Travel Delays Before Champions League Clash in Naples
Arsenal’s smooth Champions League return has already hit turbulence – and they have not even left the country.
Mikel Arteta and his players were stranded in Hertfordshire on Tuesday after an air-traffic control issue caused severe delays to their flight to Naples, forcing the Arsenal manager to cancel his pre‑match press conference at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The squad had completed their usual morning session at the training ground before being told to wait. For hours, they stayed put while the disruption rippled across UK airports and into the travel plans of hundreds of supporters heading to Italy.
Club sources stressed the football side of the operation has not been torn up. The training work was done, the meetings held. The only change: the team will arrive at their hotel later than planned. Uefa accepted Arsenal’s request to scrap the mandatory press conference, a rare concession but an unavoidable one in the circumstances.
Timber’s long road back
Inside that delayed travelling party is a significant name. Jurriën Timber is set to be involved with the first team for the first time since the Champions League final defeat by Paris Saint‑Germain on 30 May, the Dutch defender finally over the groin injury that has stalked him since March.
The problem cost him a place at the World Cup and months of his Arsenal career, but Arteta had hinted before Sunday’s win over Chelsea that Timber was close. Now, at last, he is back in the squad.
Cristhian Mosquera remains out with a muscle issue, yet there is another fresh face on the plane: 17‑year‑old defender Marli Salmon, who signed his first professional contract last month, has been named in the 23‑man group. For him, this is a first real taste of the Champions League, and it comes in one of the most hostile arenas in Europe.
Perfect record, brutal test
Arsenal arrive in the competition with the swagger of a side that knows how to handle it. They won all eight of their group games last season on their way to the final and have lost just once in their last 12 Champions League away fixtures.
They also carry a 100% Premier League record into Naples. Confidence is not in short supply.
“That puts us in a really good situation. The energy and the confidence around the team is high – now we have to show that,” Arteta said before the travel chaos struck.
He knows exactly what awaits in the south of Italy.
“I’ve been in that stadium before, I know the atmosphere they create. The record at home is really, really strong. We know the challenge ahead. We are prepared and we’re ready to go.”
The message is clear: no talk of runs, no talk of May. One game at a time, even if the season has started like a statement.
Allegri’s reset in Naples
On the other side, Napoli are trying to drag themselves out of a slow start under their new manager, Massimiliano Allegri. They finished runners‑up to Inter in Serie A last season, but the early weeks of this campaign have been flat, short on rhythm and short on wins.
Kevin De Bruyne is expected to feature against Arsenal, a major boost for Allegri in his first Champions League match for four years. Yet he must cope without Scott McTominay, who underwent a successful procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat and is expected to be back in training in two weeks.
Napoli are also likely to miss André‑Frank Zambo Anguissa, the influential former Fulham midfielder, stripping more experience from a side already trying to adjust to a new voice on the touchline.
Allegri knows the scale of the assignment.
“People in this town have passion for the team, we have to start winning games again,” he said. “We know we are challenging a very strong team – Arteta has done extraordinary things. Let’s face it with pride and desire.”
So Arsenal, delayed on the runway, head towards a city demanding a response and a stadium that feeds off noise and nerves. The journey has been messy. The question now is whether their start to the Champions League will be anything but.
