THE return of Europe’s premier club competition is more stifling than exciting as it arrives just in time to disrupt Arsenal’s preparations ahead of Sunday’s mouthwatering Premier League trip to Manchester City.

Dedicated supporters will, of course, still kick every ball when the Gunners take on Atalanta in their opening fixture of this season’s new-look Champions League.

But it won’t have escaped the fans’ attention that not only were Arsenal handed a difficult game in Italy ahead of what many are already calling a title decider at City, but, in order to fit in the increasingly bloated European calendar, matches in UEFA’s elite competition are now also being held on Thursdays as well as Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

It’s a situation that looks that much more clueless when City are handed a home tie in their Champions League opener against Inter Milan some 24 hours earlier, giving Pep Guardiola’s side a crucial advantage ahead of the showdown at the Etihad.

The challenge to better the goalless draw that they earned at City last season was already difficult enough for the Arsenal players as they prepare to go up against one of the most lethal marksmen in Europe. Erling Haaland has scored an incredible nine goals in his first four league games.

The Gunners, though, know just how to handle Haaland, and when these two teams last met at the Etihad, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes stopped the Norwegian striker in his tracks.

Fresh from captaining Arsenal to victory over rivals Tottenham on Sunday, Jorginho seemed somewhat unfazed by Haaland’s goal-getting.

“Erling scoring again… it is starting to make us laugh,” said the Gunners midfielder.

“We look because we look at all the games, and we love football. We love the Premier League, so we watch all the games.

“We watch [City] as well, which is normal. It doesn’t get to our head.”

Arsenal have their own Haaland: their own unstoppable match-winner in the shape of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, who worked his magic yet again at the weekend as Gabriel headed home from a corner to seal the 1-0 win at Spurs.

Praising Jover’s influence on his team, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “In his field, in other fields, as a person, the relationship that we have, that’s why I made a decision to bring him to City when I was there and then to Arsenal.

“Him and the staff, they have injected the belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches and that this is a really powerful one. He’s given us a lot.”