Arsenal have been given a timely boost ahead of their Champions League opener after Athletic Club boss Ernesto Valverde admitted Europe is not his side’s primary focus this season.
The Gunners visit San Mamés at the start of the new league-phase campaign, facing a Bilbao outfit juggling injuries and a manager who has reiterated La Liga comes first.
Valverde’s candid admission
Asked about Athletic’s approach, Valverde told Marca:
“It’s not something we’re worried about, it’s something we have to live with and compete for… Our primary objective is La Liga, and then we’ll compete at our best in the rest.”
He added context after a 1-0 defeat to Alavés:
“La Liga is what tells you how you’re doing, and today we weren’t that good. On Tuesday we played a contender to win the Champions League, and we’re newcomers to the competition. And these three points against Alavés won’t come back.”
Selection headaches for the hosts
Athletic’s preparation is complicated by absences. The Basque side were without seven players in their latest La Liga outing through injury or suspension, with Aymeric Laporte and Izeta labelled inactive as they build fitness following summer returns.
The most significant concern is Nico Williams, whose muscle injury threatens his involvement. Valverde admitted the situation remains fluid:
“I’d like to have him in at least one of these seven-match stretches, but I don’t know. It will depend on how the injury progresses.”
Further issues include Benat Prados Díaz, Iñigo Lekue and Unai Egiluz, while Yeray Álvarez is currently not featuring amid a doping allegation. Even for a San Mamés night, this is a challenging hand against opponents of Arsenal’s calibre.
Arteta’s opportunity
Mikel Arteta returns to Europe’s top table aiming to move beyond last season’s near miss. With the Gunners flagged by the Athletic coach as “a contender to win the Champions League”, the visitors carry expectation—yet they also arrive knowing the hosts’ emphasis lies elsewhere and their squad is stretched.
Arsenal’s own injury picture has been a talking point domestically, but the combination of Valverde’s messaging and Athletic’s fitness list narrows the margin for error on the road. The test for Arteta will be to impose control without dulling the edge that has defined Arsenal’s best European performances under him.
Site Opinion
Valverde’s straight talk strips away the usual European platitudes and hands Arsenal a psychological tailwind. Athletic will still compete ferociously at San Mamés, but a manager publicly ring-fencing La Liga—while grappling with absences and uncertainty over Nico Williams—signals pragmatic rotation and risk-management.
For Arsenal, that places the onus on ruthlessness rather than romance: start fast, move the ball quickly around Athletic’s compact press, and lean on set-piece variety to exploit any makeshift selections.
With the league phase rewarding early accumulation, this is precisely the kind of away assignment elite challengers must win without fuss. If Arsenal are serious about taking the final step in Europe, converting this “boost” into three points is non-negotiable.
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