Team news: Havertz starts against Kairat Almaty
Kai Havertz makes his first start in almost a year as we take on Kairat Almaty in the UEFA Champions League at Emirates Stadium. Our German attacker, who last started against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup in February 2025, has made three substitute appearances this season against Manchester United, Chelsea and Portsmouth.
Ben White takes the armband tonight as one of 11 changes made by Mikel Arteta. Kepa Arrizabalaga starts his first Champions League match for us. Cristhian Mosquera, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori, who hasn't featured since picking up an injury in the warm-up before facing Brighton last month, join Ben in the backline.
Christian Norgaard is joined in the midfield by Kai and Eberechi Eze. Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli, who has five goals in his six Champions League appearances, complete our final matchday line-up of the league phase.
We have four academy products on our bench. Midfielder Ife Ibrahim, winger Brando Bailey-Joseph, goalkeeper Jack Porter and defender Marli Salmon are among the substitutes. They're joined by Tommy Setford, Gabriel, Piero Hincapie, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus.
As for our visitors, Kairat make two changes from their defeat against Club Brugge, Adilet Sadybekov comes in for Damir Kasabulat in the midfield and Alexandr Shirobokov lines up in a back-three, with attacker Valery Gromyko dropping to the bench.
Line-ups
Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, White, Mosquera, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Eze, Havertz, Madueke, Martinelli, Gyokeres
Substitutes: Setford, Porter, Gabriel, Salmon, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Ibrahim, Odegaard, Bailey-Joseph, Saka, Trossard, Jesus
Kairat: Anerbekov; Shirobokov, Martynovich, Sorokin; Tapalov, Glazer, Sadybekov, Mata; Mrynskiy, Edmilson, Monteiro.
Substitute: Buch, Kalmurza, Kasabulat, Kurgin, Stanojev, Gromyko, Bagdat, Ricardinho
Read our full preview of our clash against the Kazakhstan Premier League champions below!
