Atalanta Starting XI: Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Retegui, Lookman.

Arsenal Starting XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.

Match Officials:
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Assistant referee: Nicolas Danos (France) and Benjamin Pages (France)
Video Assistant Referee: Jerome Brisard (France)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Willy Delajod (France)
Fourth official: Stephanie Frappart (France).

Champions League 
Gewiss stadium
Thursday 19th September 2024
KO:20:00 (UK)

We are back for our first game in the Champions League this season and tonight we face Atalanta. After beating Spurs on the weekend, Arteta will be looking to build on a strong performance and get the 3 points in this new format.

Jesus returns to the starting XI. Other than that, the lineup remains unchanged from the North London Derby, which for me, is surprising since players like Saka deserve a rest and I think we should’ve played Sterling and also given Saliba or Gabriel a rest and given Kiwior some game time.

Other than that, some positive injury news as Calafiori returns on the bench. Jorginho is also replaced by Rice which was expected.

Declan Rice kicked us off and we got underway. A very back and forth first couple of minutes as we seemed to play the ball through the channels. However, we began to retain the ball and try to work the ball through the middle and out to the wide areas.

 Timber inverted into the middle with Thomas Partey in a double-pivot with Rice pushing on. A few moments later, a nice take from Jesus and a quick turn forced the ball to Saka who won us a corner. The ball was swung in however, the Atalanta keeper cleared with his fists. A long throw to Jesus was flicked on and Havertz latched on to it however, his effort went wide. 

A scrappy start neither team looked to be in control as we made a few sloppy mistakes. Some nice play between Saka and Rice on the edge of the box won us a free-kick as Éderson was booked for pulling down Saka. After a long wait Saka stepped up and hit a low effort towards the bottom left corner however a great stop from the keeper and another quick reaction stop denied Arsenal a 1-0 lead. 

A corner from Lookman went straight out to the other side of the box and the ball was swung in however, the ball was headed over. A throw in to Rice was tapped into Martinelli’s path however, he was off balance and blazed over. Again a period of scrappy moments with Atalanta getting the better of the ball with some loose passes in our midfield. A nice bit of hold up play in the box from Retegui as he flicked the ball to De Ketelaere however, he fired wayward.

Atalanta began to progress with the ball into our half carving out a few half chances but most were sniffed out by our backline. Both sides had been poor in the final third and another sloppy pass from Partey ended our attack. 

A nice bit of play from Lookman and Ruggeri allowed the ball to be threaded  into our box, but good defending from Saliba edges the Italian off the ball. Again, another misplaced pass from Partey evades Martinelli and Gabriel as we seem to have lost our quality. As the ball went wide from Saliba the referee blew the whistle to end a scrappy first half.

Half time views: 

A very end to end game with little quality in the final third from either sides. However, I think that Arteta will be happy with the defensive performance again as the atmosphere and game has been tough for our players. 

One change that I would make is probably to take  off Partey and bring on Jorginho for more reassurance in the middle as Partey hasn’t seemed to be up with the speed of the game. Anyways, hopefully we can grab a goal and get the win in the second half.

Atalanta kicked us off for the second half and Ederson was played through on the edge of the area and he knocked it past Partey who brought him down in the box and a penalty was given. 

After a length VAR check, the penalty was given and Retegui put the ball down on the spot. He took a slow run up and hit it to the left but the ball was saved by Raya who palmed the ball out back to Retegui who seemed to have an open header however, his second attempt was saved again miraculously by Raya who scurried back to clamber the ball out. 

Atalanta came again however the crossed ball from De Ketelaere went out. We then made two substitutions with Trossard replacing Jesus and Jorginho replacing Partey. Atalanta shortly made a substitution of their own with Juan Cuadrado coming on for De Ketelaere. Another quick throw-in won us a corner and Saka swung it in with Havertz heading the ball down into a good area however, the referee blew his whistle for a foul on the goalkeeper. 

The penalty had given some life to both teams as the battle continued however, Atalanta’s winger Cuadrado was able to get the better of Saka and fire a curling effort just over the bar. Atalanta looked more like the team that were going to score and they then made another double change with Zaniolo replacing Retegui and Bellanova replacing ex-Chelsea player Zappacosta. 

As Atalanta retained the ball at the back we stayed in a solid shape and a overhit ball went out for a throw-in as Arsenal made another double change with Timber and Saka being replaced by two new signings in Calafiori and Sterling. A long header from the Atalanta defense made its way to Lookman on the edge of the box and again the ball fell to Cuadrado who cut in and fired his effort wide.

 Then, we went through as Sterling poked the ball through to Martinelli who had a clear sight of goal however, he leant back blazed over the bar ; a theme of our quality in front of goal today. Havertz cleverly won a free kick by the Atalanta box however, Declan Rice’s  cross went well over. A nice dribble through from Calafiori as he laid the ball off to Trossard whose attempted chipped ball was overhit and rolled out for a goal kick.

 Most of our play seemed to be going through Trossard but not much was being created in the final third. A nice turn from Lookman as he turned into the box however, Saliba was there to tackle and clear for a corner. As Zaniolo and White battled down the line, Zaniolo got the better of him but a great defensive challenge from Havertz cleared for a corner. As both teams seemed to play for a draw the referee blew the full-time whistle.

Full time views:

A much better second half performance from us especially defensively and a bit better offensively however, we should’ve been a lot more clinical. Arteta will be pleased with the result as we’ve seen a lot of other teams suffer away from home in the Champions League and another clean sheet proves how solid we are at the back.

Again a special mention to David Raya for his unbelievable double save and for me, he gets the MOTM just for that however, also Saliba and Gabriel also deserve plaudits for their solid performance.

Hopefully we can build on this for one of the biggest games of the season on Sunday away at Man City and use this game to utilise our strengths since we will lack some creativity without Odegaard.

Anyhow, onwards and upwards and another good performance away from home.

COYG

Hudson

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Cobra Kai Deeper

When we signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea, I made the point that he provided 6 tactical options for Mikel Arteta.

The first was in the left sided central midfield role that I expected to be his main position for us. After that it was as a centre forward, a position he has since made his own. He was also an option on the wing, and to play in the right hand side central role, covering Martin Odegaard.

Whilst Havertz does not have the subtly of touch of Odegaard, he would be a decent option there, and the closest like for like “senior” option we have. It would also see Gabriel Jesus return to the being our centre forward.

If Odegaard is out long term, this might be the best long term solution.

Cobra Kai II

Another option on how to use Havertz is to have him in the number 10 role rather than the left hand sided 8. This is similar to how we set up against Tottenham.

The returning Declan Rice gets move deeper to play alongside either Thomas Partey, Jorginho or Mikel Merino, and then Havertz plays in behind Gabriel Jesus.

This switch allows us to use Havertz height as an outball on the both the left and right, whilst also plays Havertz a little bit further forward where he can focus on being more of a finisher than creator.

A big issue, however, is that one of our main threats is overloading the left and right. Saka and Martinelli will no longer have Odegaard or Rice directly inside them and will have to do more of the creativity themselves.

Ethan Nwaneri

We were happy letting Fabio Vieira go out on loan in the summer due to the development of Ethan Nwaneri.

Vieira can probably consider himself a little unlucky.

2-years at Arsenal providing cover for Martin Odegaard, and our captain does not get injured. The moment he leaves, Odegaard picks up a knock. This would have been the opportunity Vieira was waiting for. I am not sure if we have a call-back option.

Nwaneri showed against Tottenham that he is ready to be a Premier League footballer. But that is very different to being ready to be the main creative outlet for a title chasing team for 6-months.

What I would expect is for Arteta to go with one of his more senior options, and Nwaneri comes in for those “easier” games and for 30-minute cameos. He could also be a game changer from the bench.

Bukayo Saka

One player to consider is Bukayo Saka.

He certainly has both the touch, technique and eye for a pass to play more centrally. He could be the man to replace Odegaard. And could well show that he has a central position in his future – similar to when Ryan Giggs’ legs went, and he started playing more centrally.

Saka moves centrally, and then Arteta has the option of either Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Raheem Sterling to play on the right and left. it is one to consider.

Klopp midfield solution

Liverpool at their best had a “workman like” midfield.

Jurgen Klopp sacrificed creativity in the middle to play an impregnable trio of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Naby Keita. These combined to allow Sadio Mane and Mo Salah to be more free from defensive duties, and also covered Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson who became the teams creative force.

In Declan Rice, Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino, we could play a deeper midfield that would allow Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz to replicate Salah, Mane and Firmino.

My only concern is Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Oleksandr Zinchenko are not in the same mold as Trent and Robertson. They tend not to hold the width and look to overlap their winger. White can do this, but not to the same level as Trent, whilst Timber and Zinchenko will both always look to come inside. Kieran Tierney would however thrive in Klopp’s formation.

This would be an option against the likes of Manchester City away, where we might look to sacrifice our attacking instincts with a solid midfield. But it feels too defensive for playing lesser teams like West Ham at home.

Other options

Mikel Merino got 9 assists for Real Sociedad last year. Instead of having Rice, Partey and Merino as deeper, could both Rice and Merino play more advanced and offer a different sort of creativity to Odegaard’s subtle touches?

Leandro Trossard has also played plenty of games in behind the striker. Whilst I prefer him coming in from the left half of the pitch onto his right foot, the Belgium could replace Odegaard whilst having little impact on our structure.

Keenos

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King of Brazil

It always baffled me the way some fans did not take to Gabriel straight away. I feel in love on day one, and it was clear that he was the beast of a central defender we had missed for years.

Yet some fans did not rate him. They labelled him a liability. an accident waiting to happen.

Since he has joined us, he has never let us down and is a monster of a central defender. Yes, he has committed errors that led to goals, but every defender has that. If you only rate players who have never made a mistake, then the players you rate will be zero.

Gabriel and William Saliba compliment each other perfectly.

Whilst Saliba is slicker, and more aesthetically pleasing, Gabriel is the bully, the more physical one, and the leader of defence.

They are the best central defensive partnership in world football.

Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling

Winning 1-nil, on came Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling. the expectation would have been that they use their pace upfront to provide a threat on the counter attack. Instead the pair read the game situation and put in 15 minutes of brilliant defensive work.

When Ethan Nwaneri came on for Bukayo Saka, we risks losing a bit defensively. Both Jesus and Sterling recognised this and immediately dropped deeper, with the young Englishman often then our highest player on the pitch. This protected Nwaneri who is still developing physically and defensively.

Whilst that meant Jesus and Sterling did little to influence the game in an attacking sense, the pair, alongside Kai Havertz, created a pressing trio that sat in front of Jorginho and Thomas Partey making us impenetrable.

Ethan Nwaneri

Our lack of attacking signings caused some concern for fans this summer. But many of them had forgotten about Ethan Nwaneri.

It is two years since Nwaneri became the youngest ever player in the Premier League, coming on against Brentford in September 2022. Since then, Arsenal have taken their time with his development, allowing him to continue to grow both physically and mentality.

Now 17, he is ready to make an impact this season.

Nwaneri’s cameo against Spurs was no fear. He did not hide and looked to get on the ball at every opportunity. His first thought was always “forward” and he relived the pressure a couple of times with his youthful energy.

This season he will play the duel role of covering Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, and the result with be Fabio Vieira departing next summer.

We have an exciting player on our hands. We just need to continue being careful with him.

Cobra Kai

I feel very vindicated.

Throughout the summer, when we were not close to signing a striker, I kept making the point: Anyone that come sin must be a better option than Kai Havertz.

And being better than Havertz is not just his goal scoring exploits. It is also his work rate, his versatility, movement and ability to create for others. Yes, he might not be an out and out goal scorer like Erling Haaland, but he has much more to his game than just goals.

After the Spurs game he looked exhausted. He had not stopped running for 90 minutes and covered every blade of grass.

When Odegaard and Havertz play together, they take it in turns to be the “first presser”, with the other sitting in behind getting a breather. With a deeper central midfield, no Odegaard or Declan Rice, the onus fell on Havertz and he did not dissapoint.

He was central, deep, wide and worked from box to box, whilst still providing an attacking threat. His height also gave David Raya an outlet when we wanted to go longer – and he won over 50% of his aerial duels.

Kai is simply a brilliant all-round centre forward.

Keenos