Arsenal look to cap off a perfect league stage of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League when they host Kairat Almaty in what should be a pretty entertaining clash at the Emirates Stadium on Matchday 8 of the Champions League campaign on Wednesday, January 28.
The Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty clash should be packed with a lot of action and goals involved in it, with the Gunners eager to maintain their 100% win rate in the Champions League against a team literally in the bottom-most place in the league table of the league phase, which should make this Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty clash an interesting David vs Goliath clash to witness.
Match Details
Emirates Stadium
London, England
Wednesday, January 28
20:00 GMT
Shaken Arsenal Eager To Get Back To Winning Ways Against Minnows Kairat
Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty will be an ideal opportunity for the Gunners to get back to winning ways after their shocking loss to Manchester United in the Premier League recently, with Mikel Arteta eager to have his side regain their winning momentum.
Arsenal have been flying high in Europe this season, having won all seven of the matches of the European competition so far and looking to go into the knockout stages with a 100% win record.
Kairat Almaty, on the other hand, haven’t won a single match in the Champions League this season and have one point from seven games, being in 36th place in the league table.
Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty will be an ideal chance for Arsenal’s bench players to prove their quality, while Kairat will look to pop up with a big surprise at the Emirates Stadium. This is also going to be the first-ever match between the two sides, with Arsenal eager to get a big win over the Kazakhstan side.
Struggling Noni Madueke Determined To Regain Momentum vs Kairat
Noni Madueke has struggled to impress for Arsenal in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, having zero goal contributions in 14 matches so far. Despite his struggles in the league, the Englishman has scored three goals in as many matches in the Champions League this season, and this involved a big goal against Atletico Madrid as well!
Madueke is determined to regain his best form for Arsenal and has the perfect chance to do so against Kairat. The English winger will be looking to use his unpredictable movement and trickery to get into the danger zones, but he has to be more efficient with his final product.
Madueke will need to be sharp with his final passes and take up his chances perfectly to be able to guide Arsenal to a dominant win over Kairat and cap off the league stages of the Champions League in style.
How Can Minnows Kairat Almaty Get Anything Out of Arsenal Clash?
Kairat Almaty aren’t really anyone’s favourites to win the Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty clash, mostly because of the sheer level of difference in quality between the two sides. Even a draw can feel like a win for them, but to do so, the Kazakhstan side needs to produce their best-ever performance in the UEFA Champions League.
Kairat could learn something from how Manchester United undid Arsenal in their recent clash, which means they need to be extremely strong defensively and brave in defending set-pieces.
Moreover, Kairat’s current second top scorer for the 2025/26 season, which is Jorginho (who has 10 goals this season), needs to be at his sharpest in finishing off whatever chances he can get to help his side get a famous result from the Emirates Stadium.
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Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty Injuries
Arsenal injuries: Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori (doubt), Max Dowman, Declan Rice (suspended)
Kairat Almaty injuries: Azamat Tuyakbayev, Dastan Satpaev, Olzhas Baybek
Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty Predicted Lineups
Now, we shall look at the Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty predicted lineups for this clash.
Arsenal predicted XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christian Norgaard, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyokeres
Kairat Almaty predicted XI: Temirlan Anarbekov (GK), Erkin Tapalov, Aleksandr Matynovich, Egor Sorokin, Luis Mata, Dan Glazer, Damir Kasabulat, Aleksandr Mrynskiy, Jorginho, Valeri Gromyko, Edmilson Filho
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Paul Marriott
Recording Date: 25.01.2026
