Arsenal’s Champions League opener thrown into chaos by UK air traffic control failure

A technical fault affecting air traffic control systems grounded planes at numerous major airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, leaving the Gunners stranded.

Arteta had been expected to address journalists at 7:15pm local time in Naples, but the squad’s flight was severely disrupted.

The Premier League champions are now not anticipated to touch down in southern Italy until 9:30pm local time.

It means the press conference has been forced into being delayed, which could see Arsenal break UEFA rules over media duties.

The disruption extended far beyond Arsenal’s travel plans, with close to 300 flights from British airports cancelled on Tuesday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

National Air Traffic Services confirmed it had detected a problem with its flight processing system. The organisation, which oversees air traffic control at 15 airports nationwide, said it had implemented a remedy but cautioned that full recovery would take considerable time.

No explanation for the root cause was offered, though a NATS spokesperson indicated there was presently no evidence of a cyber attack or hacking incident.

Flightradar24 data showed disruption at ten airports across the country, with Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands also affected.

Arsenal’s squad reportedly remained at their Sobha Realty training base while awaiting resolution before eventually departing for the airport.

On a brighter note for the Gunners, defender Jurrien Timber has joined the travelling party for Naples. The Dutchman has not played this term following groin surgery and last appeared as a substitute during May’s Champions League final against PSG.

Speaking before Sunday’s Premier League encounter with Chelsea, Arteta had sounded an optimistic note: "Jurrien is in really good condition at the moment, he’s been a few weeks on the pitch and has been training with us, so he’s in a really good place."

Bruno Guimaraes likewise completed Tuesday morning’s training session, having shaken off the knock he sustained at Villa Park. The Brazilian sat on the bench unused against Chelsea at the weekend but may feature in some capacity on Wednesday evening.

Arsenal swept all eight of their league-phase fixtures last season and will be keen to maintain that formidable European pedigree.

Regarding the cancelled press conference, UEFA regulations typically mandate that managers make themselves available to the media before matches.

However, it remains to be seen whether UEFA will exact any punishment, considering the extraordinary circumstances.

The Italian hosts present a stern test, with their squad boasting former Premier League luminaries Kevin De Bruyne, Rasmus Hojlund and Billy Gilmour. Napoli will, however, be without Scott McTominay, who recently underwent corrective cardiac surgery for a mild benign arrhythmia.

Following Wednesday’s encounter, Arsenal return home to host Lille before a daunting trip to Bayern Munich in what promises to be their sternest group-stage examination.