- Arsenal have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1 of their last 5 games.
- Arsenal have won 3 and lost 0 of their home Champions League group stage games this season.
Arsenal can ease to victory
Arsenal have been dominant in the Champions League 2025-2026 campaign, sitting top of their group with 21 points from a possible 21 after 7 games. They have won 2 of their last 5 in all competitions, including a 3-1 away win at Inter last time out in the Champions League and a 2-3 defeat at home to Manchester United in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta’s flexibility, collective pressing and positional overloads have made the Gunners a force in Europe.
Kairat Almaty boss Rafael Urazbakhtin has only been in charge since September 2024, so this is a major step up for him as he oversees his side’s maiden main-stage Champions League season. It’s been a tough campaign for the Kazakh side, who sit bottom of the log in 36th place with just 1 point from their first 7 games. Urazbakhtin has played with a pragmatic approach, utilising wide overloads, pressing in compact lines and making the most of quick counter-attacks, although the latter has been a tall order against the better teams.
Kairat’s away form has been particularly poor this season, with the club losing all 3 of their Champions League away games and suffering 4 straight defeats in all competitions. They have lost their 2 most recent home games too, drawing just 1 of their last 5 matches in all competitions. The only player they can really rely upon is Adilet Sadybekov, who has netted once in 4 Champions League appearances. Dastan Satpaev is another rare bright spark, scoring 2 of their 5 goals in the last 5 games.
First ever competitive meeting
This is the first ever competitive clash between these two sides, and it’s a clash that appears to be a huge mismatch. Arsenal’s pressing structure, positional overloads and relentless work rate should smother Kairat’s attempts to play on Wednesday, particularly if you consider the visitors’ tendency to concede 3.00 goals per away game in the Champions League this term.
Arsenal’s home form has dipped in recent weeks, failing to win either of their last 2 at the Emirates, but with the experience and quality of the players at Arteta’s disposal, we can’t see them slipping up here. The Gunners have scored an average of 3.00 goals per home match in the Champions League this campaign and can cruise to victory on Wednesday, as the bookies odds suggest.
Over 2.5 goals looks like a good punt here, with Arsenal’s collective goalscoring capabilities up against a Kairat side who have looked all too leaky on the road this campaign. Both Teams To Score at 21/50 is also tempting but Arsenal’s superiority across all areas of the field should put that to bed.
