I have never coached a player who was as intelligent as he was. “His movements in the box are incredibly captivating to observe.” – Atalanta The manager confesses that he was genuinely astounded by a single Arsenal player last night, whom Ademola Lookman described as “incredible.”
Ademola Lookman describes one Arsenal player as “incredible,” leaving the Atalanta manager in awe.
Gian Piero Gasperini, the manager of Atalanta, referred to Arsenal as “beautiful” prior to the Champions League opener on Thursday.
However, Mikel Arteta’s team can also be quite belligerent when they wish to be, as Tottenham Hotspur discovered last weekend and as Manchester City will once again.
After limiting Spurs to an XG of 0.7, which was a testament to the “best in Europe” claim made by Rio Ferdinand, William Saliba and matchwinner Gabriel Magalhaes, this time it was the turn of another free-wheeling, typically high-scoring team to struggle against Arsenal’s brick wall backline.
In the rare event that Atalanta did manage to break through, such as when Thomas Partey gifted the Europa League holders a penalty just after half-time, goalkeeper David Raya would come to the rescue and secure yet another clean sheet.
The Spain international initially denied Mateo Retegui from a distance of 12 yards, and he subsequently launched himself to his left to prevent the Argentine-born Italy striker from scoring for the second time in a matter of seconds.
If his penalty save was somewhat straightforward due to Retegui’s subpar penalty kick, his extraordinary reaction stop on the ricochet was anything but.
Arsenal is saved by penalty legend David Raya in their match against Atalanta.
Retegui expressed his regret for the players, stating, “I feel sorry for the lads, we played a great match.” Despite the absence of goalmouth activity in the game, the team managed to abandon the best opportunities. “I failed to capitalize on the penalty, but you acquire knowledge from your errors.”
I made a mistake on the second pass, but the goalkeeper made a fantastic save. I was unable to observe him due to his rapid awakening.
Raya, who has been the most underrated goalkeeper in the game, has been in impressive form since his arrival from Brentford. This has compelled Aaron Ramsdale to start afresh at Southampton. The former Blackburn Rovers glovesman will eventually begin to receive the recognition he merits if he continues to perform heroics on a stage as expansive as the Champions League.
