Last season's beaten Champions League finalists, Internazionale, currently sit in sixth position in the UCL table, and take on Premier League and Champions League leaders, Arsenal.
Arsenal's perfect Champions League record
To date this season, the Gunners have been absolutely imperious in Europe, and have a perfect record of played six and won six, with 17 goals scored and just one conceded.
Mikel Arteta and his squad should therefore enter the match full of confidence that their side can add another three points to their current total of 18.
The European giants met in the league phase of the competition last season, of course, and on that occasion, Hakan Calhanoglu's 48th-minute penalty earned the Nerazzurri a slender 1-0 victory.
It was a third competitive meeting between the two sides, Inter also having won one of the other two. It's worth pointing out, too, that Arsenal haven't won any of their last five matches on Italian soil. A 0-0 draw is as good as it's got for them in that time, as they've not scored a single goal in any of those games.
In fact, not since 2008, when the Gunners won 2-0 over Inter's eternal rivals AC Milan, have they been able to celebrate a win in Italy, and their only win over the Nerazzurri came via an epic 5-1 victory in Milan.
No wins against Inter since 2003
Although the weight of recent history is therefore against the North Londoners, there is at least the precedent of them having won at Tuesday night's venue - albeit that was during the Invincibles era.
Calhanoglu, along with Denzel Dumfries, is likely to miss this game, and there will be late fitness tests for both Raffaele Di Gennaro and Tomas Palacios.
From Arsenal's point of view, Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori are ruled out, and it will be interesting to see if Arteta brings centre-back Cristhian Mosquera into the starting line-up, with one eye on the Gunners' next match on Sunday against Man Utd.
Though Tuesday's hosts lost their last Champions League encounter at home to an English side (0-1 vs Liverpool), they have been unbeaten since then.
Disappointing result against Forest
Inter also lost their previous European game at Atletico Madrid, of course, and they've not lost three UCL games in a row since 2011, when current manager Cristian Chivu was playing for them.
The North Londoners have been on an unbeaten run of their own since they played Club Brugge (3-0), and haven't actually lost in their last 11 games in all competitions.
However, their most disappointing result in that run, a 0-0 draw vs relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, came last time out.
“We came here to win the game, that's clear, and we haven't managed that, so the word is disappointment," Arteta said at full-time.
"We generated four massive chances, but it was very difficult to generate a lot of momentum throughout the game, so that's disappointing.”
Martinelli could make history
Gabriel Martinelli missed an open goal at The City Ground, but he does lead the scoring charts for Arsenal in the UCL with five goals.
On a six-match unbeaten streak away from home in all competitions, the Gunners have scored in all six games in the premier European competition this season.
Given how tight last season's encounter was, and also that Inter have scored first in their six most recent games, it's imperative for Arsenal that they aim to strike the first blow.
That might not prove to be the knockout punch - though both teams haven't lost in this season's competition when opening the scoring - it would force the current Serie A leaders to come out and play, thus giving the likes of Martinelli and Bukayo Saka plenty of space to exploit behind the full-backs.
The Brazilian could become the first player from his country to score in six successive Champions League games should he find the net at San Siro, and, were Arsenal to go on and win, it would be the first time in their history that they've won seven UCL games in a row.
Lautaro looms largest for the Gunners
The visitors will need to be on their guard against another South American who knows where the net is too.
That's because Lautaro Martinez is in decent scoring form - five goals in his last 10 Serie A matches - and his eight Champions League goals since the start of 2025 are as many as all of his colleagues have managed combined.
Goals are almost certainly guaranteed on Tuesday, as both sides have found the net in every Champions League game so far in 2025/26. Aside from the loss against Liverpool, Inter have scored at least twice in each of those fixtures, as have Arsenal.
Even a draw would ensure qualification for the Gunners, and on that basis, we could see a much more tactical battle develop over the 90 minutes.
Captivating.
Follow Inter vs Arsenal LIVE with Flashscore on Tuesday evening.
