Remember when there was a debate about whether Arsenal actually needed to sign David Raya?
The Spain international’s magnificent double save helped his side emerge from a clumsy attempt against Atalanta with a clean sheet and a point from their Champions League opener.
Raya first dived down his right to deny Mateo Retegui from the penalty spot then, when the striker pounced to nod in the rebound, jumped to his feet and across his goal line to push away the follow-up. This maintained his excellent early season form and ensured that the visitors retained a level of control in Italy.
The performance stood out as exceptional in a tightly contested game. Bukayo Saka tested Marco Carnesecchi, low down the right, in the first half, while Gabriel Martinelli shot over the bar after the break. But Atalanta presented their own threat and more than held their own on a raucous night in Bergamo.
Art de Roché, Mark Carey and James Horncastle dissect the game’s key talking points.
How did Raya make those saves?
David Raya is quickly becoming Arsenal’s standout player at the start of this season.
His double save from Retegui was spectacular for a number of reasons. First, he chose his side before the striker hit the ball, which allowed him to reach it easily. Secondly, the speed with which he sprung up and took over the rebound away from goal showed that his reactions at Villa Park last month were not a one-off.
His discussion with goalkeeper Inaki Cana during the VAR check for the penalty was probably just as important. Rather than wait on his line for the spot-kick to take place, the Spaniard rushed to Cana on the sideline to take an instruction that could have given him the confidence to pick his side early on.
Raya and Cana during the VAR check (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Raya’s second save was very similar to the one he produced to thwart Ollie Watkins at Villa Park.
“It’s a very repetitive save in training during all my years as a footballer, because we do this exercise of throwing yourself, get up and go to another ball,” he explained about that Villa saves in a press conference with Spain during the recent. international break “Here the context was different. It was in a match and I tried to reproduce it there.”
The Spaniard dives to his right to deny Retegui (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
The 29-year-old has now managed it twice in as many months. His decisive saves against Wolves and Brighton also made his signature look better with each passing game. He conceded just once this season, kept four clean sheets in five games, and established himself as a key to this team’s progress.
Art by Roche
How did Arsenal beat the Atalanta press?
Mikel Arteta would not be at all surprised by Atalanta’s approach at the Gewiss Stadium.
“It’s very difficult to play against them,” Arteta said before the game. “They have a particular style of play that you see week in, week out and it’s very challenging for opponents against them.”
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are known for their aggressive, hard-working man-for-man pressing. It stifled some of Europe’s best clubs last season, as neither Liverpool nor Bayer Leverkusen had an answer to such a clumsy approach during Atalanta’s route to Europa League glory.
The best way to beat the tactical headache? Rotations.
Gasperini greets Arteta before kick-off (Isabella Bonotto/AFP via Getty Images)
In an attempt to stretch the Atalanta press and confuse their man-marking structure, Arsenal centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel will split wide across the pitch, allowing right-back Jurrien Timber to drift between either Partey and Declan Rice to drop deeper from midfield. .
Sometimes, Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus would even drop into midfield zones to collect the ball and shake off their marker, daring the Atalanta players to either follow them and endanger their structure or allow Arsenal to have the ball in pockets of space.
Admittedly, Atalanta adapted well to Arsenal’s antidote with clear communication when passing their markers. Arsenal were at times forced to go long in their build-up as Raya looked to the wings in an attempt to push his team-mates up the field – often to little avail as Arteta’s side ended up conceding possession.
It was a tactical slugging match of sorts, and although it ended goalless you’d imagine both managers will be pleased with the result.
Mark Carey
Why was this occasion so special in Bergamo?
When Atalanta first qualified for the Champions League, they played their home games in Milan at the San Siro. Covid then hit and, when they qualified for the competition again, games back in Bergamo were held behind closed doors.
The revenue made during those seasons from television and prize money, as well as a best-in-class player-business model, was reinvested in turning the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, a crumbling old bowl with a running track and plexiglass barriers, into. the Gewiss stadium, a boxy bougie modern football arena.
Atalanta chief executive Luca Percassi called it a “masterpiece” on RAI’s La Politica nel Pallone radio show last week. Atalanta kept the old stone and woodwork. The press stand and portal are under a mosaic that could be exhibited in a classical museum.
Bergamo welcomes Champions League football (Isabella Bonotto/AFP via Getty Images)
Last week, work on the south stand was finally completed. “It’s like theatre,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini told DAZN after his team opened it by coming back from 2-0 down to beat Fiorentina 3-2. Only Bergamasco contractors were used in the €100 million (£84m; $111.6m) reconstruction. Gewiss, to whom the naming rights were sold, is a local company.
Thursday’s match against Arsenal was the first time Atalanta had experienced it in the Champions League. Italian clubs have lagged behind their European peers in stadium development for decades. The Gewiss stands as a testament to how well this club has performed over the last eight years.
James Horncastle
How key were Arsenal’s ball recoveries?
Arsenal’s defense has rightly received much plaudits in the past 18 months, with William Saliba and Gabriel being the foundation of Arteta’s solidity at the back.
However, each of Arsenal’s outfield players deserves credit for their collective defensive display to prevent Atalanta generating a dangerous counter-attack. On the occasions when they gave up possession in advanced areas, Arsenal’s forwards quickly sprinted back and regained their form to support their team-mates.
You could often throw a blanket over their compact structure within seconds of them losing the ball, which must surely please Arteta as much as any other part of their performance in Bergamo.
It shows how tactically astute Arsenal have become in recent seasons – a crucial attribute that will serve them well in their second season back in Europe’s elite competition.
Mark Carey
Where is the creativity without Martin Odegaard?
As was the case in their north London derby victory, Arsenal did not throw waves of attacks at Atalanta. They had encouraging moments but were comfortable enough to concede possession to the hosts with confidence in their backline.
Their organization made Atalanta work for their openings, none of which were clear in the first half. Arsenal had more of the ball after Raya’s penalty heroics and the introduction of Jorginho from the bench. But without Martin Odegaard, who plays an integral role in how Arsenal move the ball through the thirds, this being the theme for two consecutive games is not a major surprise. And they visit the Premier League champions on Sunday.
It won’t be a major concern for Arteta considering his side stopped Erling Haaland from scoring in three separate matches last season and prevented Manchester City from having a shot until the 43rd minute on their last visit to the Etihad Stadium.
Martinelli missed Arsenal’s best chance (Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
A few moments did offer glimpses of how they might attack City without their main creative spark in Odegaard.
Arsenal goalkeepers have mixed up their distribution in recent seasons, and Declan Rice joining Kai Havertz in the front line has given the Spaniard two aerial goals instead of one. Rice helped Arsenal create a platform to generate chances in the first half. Their best chance of the second half came when Raheem Sterling showed a clean touch to set up Gabriel Martinelli after Havertz brought the ball out of the sky.
Martinelli bent his effort, but having that option in possession could help Arsenal navigate difficult moments well at the Etihad and, if necessary, turn the momentum of the game.
Rock Art
Is Serie A frustrating the Premier League contingent?
So much of the focus on tonight’s game was taken by Arsenal’s absences in Bergamo. Would they treat Atalanta as well as against Tottenham, for example? What about the attrition effect ahead of Manchester City at the weekend.
Little attention was instead given to the players Atalanta were without. Giorgio Scalvini missed the Euros with an ACL tear. Gianluca Scamacca, last season’s top scorer, suffered the same injury in pre-season.
All-action midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, who equaled Ruud Gullit’s record for goals from a Dutch midfield in Serie A, has forced a move to Juventus. Ademola Lookman, the hat-trick hero of last season’s Europa League final, tried to follow him on the way out. His confrontation with the club only ended after the window closed.
And yet Atalanta showed on Thursday why they are still a match for Europe’s elite.
The pre-match cheering of Atalanta supporters before kick-off (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Had it not been for Raya’s double save on Retegui, who started the season in excellent form, they might have recorded another famous win with those against Liverpool, Ajax and the previously unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin in May.
Milan aside, the last two nights of Champions League action have been a good illustration of just how competitive Serie A sides are against the Premier League’s top opposition. Inter, for example, could have beaten Manchester City with better decision-making in the final third. Yes, Matteo Darmian I’m looking at you.
Both Inter and Atalanta benefit from continuity in the excavation and from a core of players who, during the last years, counted several finals, foreign and domestic. There was some consternation when Serie A surpassed the UEFA coefficient last season, earning the league a deserved fifth place in the Champions League.
This game week, once again, showed that it was no fluke.
James Horncastle
What did Mikel Arteta say?
We bring you the assessment of the Arsenal head coach after he spoke at the post-match press conference.
What next for Arsenal?
Sunday, September 22: Manchester City (A), Premier League, 4.30pm (GMT), 11.30am (ET)
A mouth-watering occasion awaits at the Etihad stadium as the Premier League’s top two meet with their respective unbeaten records on the line.
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(Top photo: Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
