Arsenal’s meeting with Kairat will be just the second time ever that an English side have hosted an opponent from Kazakhstan in European competition, after Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Astana in September 2019 in the UEFA Europa League.

This will be Arsenal’s first meeting with Kairat; the Gunners haven’t lost any of the last 11 occasions when facing a team for the first time in European competition, winning 10 of those (D1), since a defeat versus Rennes in March 2019 (3-1 loss in the UEFA Europa League).