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The first week of Champions League football comes to an end on Thursday evening when Europa League champions Atalanta welcome Arsenal to Bergamo in the middle of a crucial week for the Gunners. After victory at Tottenham on Sunday, Mikel Arteta’s side start their European season with half an eye on Sunday and their visit to Manchester City.
That doesn’t mean they will take Atalanta lightly. Gianpiero Gasperini’s side got off to a slow start in the early rounds of Serie A matches, but a thrilling win over Fiorentina (five goals scored, all in the first half) was a reminder of the threat they can pose. Even high-level defense systems can be tested, but will that include an Arsenal defense that is arguably the best in the business? We’ll know on Thursday.
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- Date: Thursday September 19 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Location: Gewiss Stadium – Bergamo, Italy
- Live stream: Biggest+
- Chances: Atalanta +320; Sign +270; Arsenal -118
Schedule of the competition phase
Atalanta: Arsenal (h), Shakhtar Donetsk (a), Celtic (h), Stuttgart (a), Young Boys (a), Real Madrid (h), Sturm Graz (h), Barcelona (a)
Arsenal: Atalanta (a), Paris Saint-Germain (h), Shakhtar Donetsk (h), Inter (a), Sporting (a), Monaco (h), Dinamo Zagreb (h), Girona (a)
Team news
Atalanta: A few issues have emerged in defense as Gasperini prepares his side for a return to the Champions League for the first time in three years, Rafael Toloi is out with a thigh problem and Ben Godfrey struggles with a back injury that has limited his availability since he came on for the first from Everton. Further forward there are plenty of options to choose from in what is likely to be an attacking display.
Possible Atalanta XI: Carnesecchi; De Roon, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, Pasalic, Ederson, Ruggeri; Lookman, De Ketelaere; Retegui
Arsenal: The injury crisis in North London is not exactly abating. Riccardo Calafiori was in training on Tuesday after a late withdrawal from the derby, but there was no sign of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney, Mikel Merino or Oleksandr Zinchenko. Most significant of all Martin Odegaard’s ankle problem is that he will likely be sidelined for a while. “Following recent scans it appeared that he has suffered some damage, mainly to one of the ligaments in the ankle,” said Arteta. “It’s something very important, so we’ll be without him for a while.” Arsenal’s hope is that that timescale does not end up in the multiple months.
The question then arises whether any adjustments are necessary in view of Sunday’s outing to Manchester City. Can Thomas Partey and Jorginho, or both, make three starts in a week? If not, will whoever starts on Thursday be on the bench for what will be a crucial match in the battle for the Premier League title?
Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Wood; Jorginho, Havertz, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
Prediction
Arsenal still appear to have some problems – perhaps exaggerated – against quality European opposition, and that could continue in Italy. CHOOSE: Atalanta2, Arsenal2