Liga Champions | 28 January 2026 | 83

Where to Watch Arsenal vs Kairat January 2026

Mansion Sports – The final match of the 2025/2026 Champions League league phase will provide a stage for Arsenal to perfect their extraordinary journey this season.

Playing in front of their home supporters, The Gunners will host Kairat in a match that appears unbalanced in terms of league standings, yet remains interesting to follow.

This match is scheduled to take place at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, 28 January 2026 at 20:00 local time.

The Gunners are guaranteed to finish in first place simply by earning one point against the visiting team ranked 36th, who are experiencing their debut at the highest level with a rather harsh reality.

Before the match kicks off, let us take a look at the recommendations from Mansion Sports for where to watch Arsenal vs Kairat January 2026 so you do not miss the exciting action.

Conditions of Both Teams Ahead of the Match

Arsenal

Leaving behind numerous club records in an extraordinary European journey so far, Arsenal have swept aside every opponent they have faced in the 2025/2026 league phase, collecting 21 points from a possible 21 to secure a place in the round of 16 with one match remaining.

For years, Inter Milan’s solid defense has often been highlighted, but Mikel Arteta’s men toyed with the Nerazzurri back line at San Siro last week, as Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres inspired a statement 3-1 victory over the 2022/2023 and 2024/2025 runners-up.

Three points clear of previous victims such as Bayern Munich and far ahead of other challengers, Arsenal are also the joint-highest scoring team with 20 goals and boast the best defense, conceding only two goals in the league phase so far.

A home draw against a visiting team near the bottom of the table is enough to lock in top spot.

However, Arteta’s side risk facing dissatisfaction from the Emirates crowd if they only manage a draw this Wednesday, following faint boos heard at the end of a surprising 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League, which marked Arsenal’s first home loss in all competitions this season.

Arsenal have often masked slow build-up play and a lack of creativity with their set-piece superiority, but this was not evident against Michael Carrick’s side.

If those old problems resurface on Wednesday, doubts over title ambitions could emerge once again.

Regarding squad conditions for the hosts, Arsenal previously only missed Max Dowman due to an ankle injury and Riccardo Calafiori with a muscle issue during the defeat to Manchester United.

Now, William Saliba and Jurrien Timber have also been added to the injury list, although they are only suffering from minor issues.

Arteta must also be without two midfielders, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, due to yellow card accumulation for Wednesday’s match.

Christian Norgaard is expected to return directly to the starting lineup after being absent from Sunday’s matchday squad.

Kai Havertz was also a notable absentee against Manchester United amid reports of an injury setback, although Arteta denied this. Nevertheless, the German player is unlikely to start from the first minute.

In his place, Viktor Gyokeres has a chance to lead the frontline again after losing out to Gabriel Jesus in the previous match, as part of a potential nine changes Arteta may make before facing Leeds United this coming weekend.

Kairat

Two teams whose fates have already been decided will meet in London this week, as Champions League debutants Kairat are certain to be eliminated at the first hurdle regardless of the outcome on the final matchday.

The Kazakh side have collected just one point in the 2025/2026 league phase, earned from a 0-0 home draw against fellow debutants Pafos. Since then, they have lost to Inter, Olympiacos, Copenhagen, and Club Brugge.

Kairat were only defeated by a one-goal margin against their first three opponents, but a heavy 4-1 loss to Club Brugge dealt a harsh blow to Rafael Urazbakhtin’s squad, who are now merely trying to avoid finishing bottom.

The Team of the Nation could theoretically still surpass Villarreal, Slavia Prague, and Eintracht Frankfurt if they were somehow able to avoid defeat at the Emirates.

However, they would require the most shocking victory to leapfrog the latter two teams.

Many lessons can be drawn from Kairat’s inaugural Champions League campaign, where they were never expected to pose a serious threat to the major teams. With both teams’ fates already sealed, unexpected situations could still occur in this match.

Meanwhile, regarding squad conditions on the Kairat side, they completed their last domestic competition in October and in recent months have only competed in the Champions League. Even so, Urazbakhtin continues to face several injury issues.

Seventeen-year-old wonderkid Dastan Satpaev, who will join Chelsea next summer, was absent during the defeat to Club Brugge due to an undisclosed injury, and his status for Wednesday’s match remains in doubt.

In addition, winter signings Lucas Africo, Jaakko Oksanen, and Sebastian Zeballos are not eligible to feature in the league phase.