- Arsenal’s squad for the Champions League campaign has been revealed
- There was one surprising name in particular included in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
- AZ FOOTBALL: Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday
There has been a surprise inclusion in Arsenal’s 23-man squad for the upcoming Champions League campaign.
UEFA has revealed the squads for the 36 teams that will compete in the competition, including Premier League hopefuls Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Each club presents an “A List” and a “B List”, the latter made up of under-21 players.
There was one eye-catching name on Arsenal’s main roster, who has not played for the Gunners since their 2023 Community Shield win over Manchester City.
The player in question is Scottish international Kieran Tierney.
Kieran Tierney has been named in Arsenal’s squad for the 2024-25 Champions League
Tierney was expected to leave but is still out of action after suffering a hamstring injury.
Arteta last played under Tierney in a match during the 2023 Community Shield win over Manchester City.
Tierney, who has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, spent last year on loan at LaLiga club Real Sociedad.
The 27-year-old is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury he sustained playing for his country at Euro 2024.
Without his injury, Tierney was expected to leave the Gunners in the summer.
However, he now has the chance to play for the Gunners in this season’s expanded Champions League format.
His inclusion will certainly add to the depth of their squad as they look forward to eight games in the league phase which has replaced the old group stage format.
Tierney has made 124 appearances for the Gunners since joining from Celtic in 2019.
It was the arrival of Olekdandr Zinchenko in the summer of 2022 that caused Tierney to lose his place at left-back.
Speaking about Tierney, manager Mikel Arteta said last month: ‘He needs to focus on recovering in the best possible way, he has had a difficult time again with his latest injury.
Raheem Sterling is among the new summer signings set to enter Arteta’s European squad
“We have to try to support him and make sure he recovers.”
Arsenal’s squad is more or less what was expected for the next Champions League.
Their squad includes summer signings Neto, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Marino and Raheem Sterling.
Arsenal, making their return to Europe’s top flight last season, were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals with a 3-2 aggregate score.
