Atalanta held Arsenal to a goalless draw in their Champions League opening in Bergamo, thanks to blunt and uninspired play from Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s team put up a lackluster display, with Bukayo Saka threatening with a low free kick in the first period and Gabriel Martinelli blasting over at the near post in the second.
David Raya, who single-handedly secured his team a point, expertly saved Mateo Retegui’s spot-kick and rebound, so Atalanta will be kicking themselves for not taking home the maximum.
Four salient elements from a match that saw the two teams settle for a point apiece to begin their European careers are broken down by Express Sport.
It was never going to be easy traveling to face the defending Europa League champions, but Arsenal would have been confident in their ability to defeat the team presently ranked ninth in Serie A after losing twice in their previous four games.
In midfield, Thomas Partey was prone to mistakes, frequently gave the ball away, and nearly cost Arsenal the game when he tackled Ederson inadvertently and Atalanta was awarded a penalty.
Martinelli’s attacking threat on the left side was far too little, and he squandered Arsenal’s finest opportunity of the match in the closing moments, giving Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard optimism that they may take his place in the starting lineup.
Furthermore, Gabriel Jesus mainly failed to make an impact through the middle until he and Partey were substituted before the hour mark, demonstrating to supporters why Arteta frequently starts Kai Havertz as his center-forward.
The management of Arsenal has experimented with several different approaches to fill in for Martin Odegaard. In the match against Tottenham, Havertz lined up in the middle, but in Bergamo, Jorginho and Partey formed a midfield two.
Occasionally, when Arsenal went long, he switched places with Jesus, who fell very low to make room for taller players vying for aerial duels. The approach, while sound on paper, did not inspire the Gunners to play free-flowing football.
Arteta may be intimidated by the prospect of Odegaard being replaced by a 17-year-old, but Arsenal’s wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri is the closest player in terms of stature to the injured Norwegian. Additionally, the team’s performance on Thursday night will have made it very evident to the Gunners manager that, after benching the teenager in Italy, he should seriously consider starting him against Manchester City this weekend.
The amazing moment David Raya
Raya is enjoying a fantastic season for the Gunners in goal, and his incredible double save against Atalanta may be his best performance while wearing the Arsenal uniform. Not only did Raya dive to his right to save Mateo Retegui’s second-half penalty, but he also remarkably jumped straight to his left to deflect the Italian’s rebounding header off the line.
It’s difficult to argue with former Premier League midfielder Robbie Savage when he declared, “That was one of the best saves I have ever seen,” during his co-commentary duties on TNT Sports.
