Inter Milan vs. Arsenal: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Even though they are fading out of contention for the Premier League title, Arsenal will have a chance to make up for some domestic missteps in Wednesday's Champions League showdown against Inter Milan at San Siro.

The Gunners lost 1-0 to Newcastle United on the weekend. Still, Simone Inzaghi's Serie A team narrowly avoided defeat at home against Venezia and now share the visitors' seven points in Europe.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

For the second time in as many games, Mikel Arteta was without his captain and primary creator as Arsenal prepared to go to Newcastle on Saturday afternoon without Martin Odegaard, who had been out for over two months with an ankle injury.

At St. James' Park, Arsenal needed a spark of the Norwegian's creativity—which they didn't have in a few games over the last few weeks—to defeat Newcastle. The game-winning goal came from a bullet header by Alexander Isak after a precise ball by Anthony Gordon.

Arteta's squad's lack of offensive threat was on full display as Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka could not overcome the determined fullback duo of Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall. As a result, Arsenal fell seven points behind league leaders Liverpool and failed to produce the performance typical of their play recently.

As if Arsenal's current Premier League losing run weren't bad enough, Arteta is getting ready to say goodbye to one of his closest allies—the award-winning sports director Edu—just when the team needs him most.

Arsenal are still undefeated in Europe this season, but their 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Champions League matchday three gave them seven points in the 2024–25 season. That's a respectable total that puts them in ninth out of 36 teams.

The same holds for Arsenal's host, Inter, who has been defensively exemplary under Inzaghi. The Nerazzurri drew 1-1 with 2022–23 final opponents Manchester City in their first match and are now aiming for their third consecutive tournament victory.

On the third matchday, the current Serie A winners thrashed Red Star Belgrade 4-0 and then narrowly beat BSC Young Boys 1-0; in the latter match, Marcus Thuram was the hero for the reigning champions in the second half injury time; however, Inzaghi had almost the exact opposite experience on Sunday.

Inter almost lost two points in the dying moments after falling behind relegation-threatened Venezia on a Lautaro Martinez header. However, a video assistant referee decision denied Marin Sverko's equalizer for handball, and the Nerazzurri just escaped with a draw.

After Napoli's gaffe against Atalanta BC, Inter is again in first place in Serie A, one point behind Antonio Conte's team. Inter have won seven of their previous eight matches in all competitions, with a tense 4-4 draw against Derby d'Italia winners Juventus as the lone exception.

If Inter qualifies for Wednesday's Champions League and European Cup finals without conceding a goal, it will be the first time in club history. However, in 2003–04, after Arsenal's 3-0 humiliation at Highbury, Arsene Wenger's Gunners famously ripped the Italian giants to shreds in a 5-1 Milan mauling.

Inter Milan vs. Arsenal Team News

After a lengthy layoff due to an ankle injury, Odegaard reportedly aims for a long-awaited return to play at San Siro. However, Arteta refused to provide a definitive answer when questioned about his possibilities after the loss to Newcastle.

While Riccardo Calafiori (knee), Kieran Tierney (hamstring), and Inter-linked defender Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) would undoubtedly not be able to go to Milan with the Gunners, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes overcame their worries to play in the match over the weekend.

White, who came off the bench for a few minutes but is likely to start Tuesday's match if Arteta brings the Ghanaian back into the midfield (maybe at Leandro Trossard's cost) instead of trying Thomas Partey at right back.

In their match against Venezia, Inter had a defensive injury scare when Alessandro Bastoni had to come off with 20 minutes left in regular time; however, the Italian is claimed to have simply experienced cramps and should be OK for Wednesday.

Therefore, Inzaghi should only have one player for the midweek blockbuster: Carlos Augusto. The Brazilian left-back is nursing a hamstring injury and won't be able to play until after the international break. Fortunately, that side already has the energetic Federico Dimarco as their starter.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who returned to Inter after an aborted trade deal with Alexis Sanchez, is a mainstay in the middle of the field. Piotr Zielinski might be benched in favor of Hakan Calhanoglu.

Our Predictions

Correct Score 0-0 @ 8.40 on Sky247.ng

Unfortunately for Arsenal, even if Odegaard is cleared to go to Milan, he will not start, and their offensive efforts will likely be in vain against Inter's tenacious defense.

It's not out of the question that the two teams will wind up tied, given that Inzaghi's squad struggled in the attacking third last weekend, and the away club has almost their whole starting defense at their disposal.

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