Arsenal will travel to Athletic Bilbao for the first round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League. Manager Arteta said his team must give their best performance from the first game to give the team the best chance.

In the focus match of the fourth round of the Premier League earlier, Arsenal relied on goals from Martin Subiamendi and Džekeres to beat Nottingham Forest 3-0, successfully building momentum for the new season's Champions League with a victory, and other Arsenal newcomers also gained some confidence to face new challenges.

Arsenal manager Arteta said at a press conference, "Everyone knows that this is a very long journey. The margin of victory and defeat in this competition is extremely small. You must give your best performance from the first day to give yourself the best chance."

"We are strong enough to compete with any opponent in the competition. Beyond that, two other things are crucial. First, the team must have a complete lineup at the most crucial moment of the season, and then the ball must enter the net at the right time because the difference in victory or defeat is too small."

Arsenal were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in last season's Champions League semi-finals. Arteta said, "We learned a lot from that defeat. It was painful because of how we felt, the expectations we created, and the real belief within the club and the team that got us there. We showed great consistency and quality throughout the tournament, and we need to learn from that experience and strive to get better."

"I can feel the players' very clear ambition, they want to get stronger every day. This is the starting point and the end point, the rest is out of our control. We need to create energy and belief among the players, make them understand and feel that we can compete with any opponent, and they already have this confidence."

In addition, Arteta also said, "We are looking forward to starting again in such a beautiful place and playing in a stadium that can create a special atmosphere. We are looking forward to this game and I am also very excited. I hope to build momentum and start winning."

“We’ve arrived in Bilbao, which is usually my stopover when I return to San Sebastian, about an hour’s drive from there. My whole family is from that area, and I can relate to the passion, the competitiveness, the football atmosphere. It’s really great to be here; I’ve never played in this stadium before, so it’s going to be something special.”