Who: Inter Milan vs Arsenal
Contents: Matchday 7 (of 8), League Phase, UEFA Champions League
Location: San Siro, Milan, Italy
When: Tuesday, January 20th, 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports from 17:00 GMT, ahead of the text commentary stream.
Arsenal, currently the only unbeaten side in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), will travel to northern Italy on Tuesday to take on powerhouse Inter Milan after a 40-day break in the tournament schedule.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
With 18 points from six games so far, the Gunners go into Round 7 as UCL favorites, but their form in the English Premier League (EPL) is still far from overwhelming in 2026, with their latest domestic match on Saturday drawing with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
Inter, who were in first place in the league along with Arsenal after four matches, suffered two consecutive defeats in the UCL, including a 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool in the final match on December 9th, and the Nerazzurri dropped to sixth place in the penultimate group stage.
Al Jazeera Sports has detailed coverage of this high-stakes match that could decide automatic qualification to the last 16.
Arsenal are top of the UCL and EPL but it doesn’t feel like it
The Gunners lead next-place Bayern Munich in the Champions League by three points and Premier League leaders Manchester City by seven points, but they have been far from their best in the new year.
Mikel Arteta’s side had their last EPL win of 2026 with an unconvincing 3-2 win against Bournemouth on January 3, and then bounced back with two goalless draws. Then, on January 17th, he heads to Raleigh Forest.
This is the first time Arsenal have recorded back-to-back 0-0 draws in the domestic league since the 2012-13 season, and Arteta admitted it was “difficult to create momentum” in their last game.
“We came here to win the game, that’s clear. We needed the chances we got,” he said after the come-from-behind defeat at Nottingham.
“The word disappointing is because we couldn’t achieve that.”
Arsenal are on track to end their 22-year wait for the Premier League title, but they will urgently need to rediscover their attacking touch against defensive powerhouses like Inter.
Inter’s best performance
In contrast, Inter bounced back from a slow start to the Serie A season, losing two of their first three games, and quickly moved up the table, moving to the top of the table, three points behind runners-up AC Milan and six points ahead of reigning champions Napoli.
The Nerazzurri are unbeaten in their last 11 domestic league matches. Their last defeat in Serie A came on November 23, when they lost 1-0 at home in a derby match against Milan.
Will Arsenal advance to the Round of 16 if they beat Inter?
yes. A win or draw for Arsenal in the penultimate league phase against Inter on Tuesday would guarantee the north London outfit an automatic place among the top eight clubs to qualify for the last 16 of the tournament, skipping the two-legged knockout play-off for places 9 to 24.
When was the last time Inter and Liverpool won the Champions League?
Arsenal have never won the UEFA Champions League title before. Their closest came in the 2005-06 season, when they lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the final.
Inter last won the title in 2010, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final to complete the treble, a feat no Italian or German team had achieved.
What happened the last time Inter played Arsenal?
On November 6, 2024, Inter defeated Arsenal 1-0 at San Siro in the fourth round of the league match.
Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu scored the winning goal from the penalty spot just before half-time.
These two historic clubs have met three times in Champions League history, with Inter holding a 2-1 advantage over the Gunners.
Inter Milan team news
In preparation for Tuesday’s blockbuster game against Arsenal, Inter manager Cristian Chivu rested star players Alessandro Bastoni and Marcus Thuram against Udinese on Saturday.
Thuram will return to the starting line-up in place of Pio Esposito and will lead the line alongside regular attacking partner Lautaro Martinez in Chivu’s tried-and-tested 3-5-2 formation.
The Nerazzurri are likely to be without key players Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries, both of whom are recovering from leg injuries and are close to returning to action.
With automatic qualification to the UCL round of 16 on the line for a top-eight finish, Chivu are expected to field their strongest possible team against Arsenal.
Inter Milan projected starting lineup (3-5-2):
Sommer (goalkeeper); Acerbi, Akanji, Bastoni. Enrique, Barella, Mkhitaryan, Zielinski, Dimarco. Thuram, Martinez
arsenal team news
In a desperate bid to find some goals, Arteta could start Bukayo Saka, who was brought on as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s draw with Forest, alongside Noni Maduke and Gabriel Jesus.
Arsenal will continue to be without injured trio Max Dauman, Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafioli, who are all expected to return in the first week of February at the earliest.
Arsenal’s projected starting lineup (4-3-3):
Raya (goalkeeper), Luis Skelly, Saliba, Magalhães. Timber, zubimendi, rice. Odegaard. maduke, jesus, saka
past 5 games
Inter Milan: WWDWW (Latest results last, Serie A matches only)
Arsenal: WWWDD (Latest results last, Premier League matches only)
