Arsenal vs. Atalanta match thread: fresh start
Today at 12:32 PM
The Champions League is a clean slate.
Arsenal are in Bergamo, Italy to face Atalanta on Matchday 1 of the new format Champions League. The league stage, as it is called, sees each club play 8 matches against 8 different opponents, 4 at home and 4 away. The results create a table — the top 8 qualify directly for the knockout stage, 9th-24th play an additional play-in round, and 25th-32nd are out of the competition entirely. Avoiding that extra round of matches is important, so every match matters.
Atalanta away will be a tough match for the Gunners, much more difficult than some are making it out to be. Last year, La Dea downed Liverpool en route to beating unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final. They're a high-energy side that presses for close to the entire 90 minutes of the match.
They've had an up and down start to the season. They put four past Lecce in their Serie A opener, fell 2-1 against Torino with a closing minutes penalty saved to deny them the draw, were humbled by Inter Milan 4-0, and came back twice against Fiorentina for a 3-2 victory. They've scored plenty of goals and haven't provided much resistance down their own end, either. For more on Atalanta, check out our Q&A with Amore Atalanta.
Arsenal will be without captain Martin Odegaard for a while and will need to find a way to play without him. He's not an easy player to replace - he's one of the main creators on the ball and helps spearhead the press without it. Leandro Trossard did a pretty good job in the role against Tottenham and will likely reprise it today. Developing new attacking patterns, creating chances, and scoring goals will be the biggest ask. Everyone in a Mikel Arteta system works hard without the ball and plays defense. The offense side may take longer to shake out. Even more responsibility will fall to Bukayo Saka, who has a goal and four assists in four Premier League matches to open the season.
The Gunners are also without Oleksandr ZInchenko, who is dealing with a reoccurrence of the calf problem that has plagued him on and off for multiple seasons. Mikel Merino (shoulder), Kieran Tierney (thigh), and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are all out as well, although Merino seems to be progressing well from his fracture and looks to have shed the sling to return to light work on the pitch. Riccardo Calafiori, who missed out at the weekend with an injury picked up on international duty, is available for selection, as is Gabriel Jesus, who made a substitute appearance against Spurs.
La Dea are without Giorgio Scalvini and ex-West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca (ACL tear) long term. Defenders Rafael Toloi and Ben Godfrey are expected to miss out, as well. Former Arsenal man Sead Kolasinac recently returned from an injury and is available for selection, as are Berat Djimsiti and Nicolo Zaniolo.
Lineups will be posted when available.
WHO: Arsenal at Atalanta BC
WHAT: Champions League league stage Match Day 1
WHEN: Thursday, September 19th, 12:00 pm PT | 3:00 pm ET | 8:00 pm BT
WHERE: Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy
HOW TO WATCH: Streaming live on the Paramount+ app.
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