Preview: Atalanta – Arsenal | Preview | News

Gasperini: “It will be difficult to get into the top eight. To stay between ninth and 24th place we need to score points in every game. We are starting with a really tough test but it is an opportunity to compete. We have been playing in Europe for several years now, it is clear that continuity has allowed us to continue to grow.

“(Arsenal) is a team I really like. They are very compact and well organised and a good example of how to play football. The results speak for themselves. I don't know (Arteta) personally but as a coach he has all my respect. It's a wonderful team to watch.”

About the team

Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori returned to training before the game and were included in the squad that travelled to Italy, while Declan Rice has served his Premier League ban and is available to play for us at home and abroad.

Martin Odegaard will probably miss the next few games due to a ligament injury in his ankle. Mikel Merino (shoulder), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Kieran Tierney (thigh) will also not be able to play.

Three Italian internationals are likely to be unavailable for Gasperini. Former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scammacca and young defender Georgio Scalvini are out long-term with cruciate ligament injuries, while club captain Rafael Toloi is battling a muscle injury.

Former Everton centre-back Ben Godfrey is also doubtful after missing the win against Fiorentina with a back problem. However, former Gunner Sead Kolasinac and Albanian international Berat Djimsiti returned from injuries and now start in defence.

Conversation tactics

Adrian Clarke: 3-4-2-1 is Gasperini's most likely choice against us – the formation the 66-year-old used to beat Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final. When they are out of possession, Atalanta almost always play man-marking and they apply pressure in a disciplined and determined manner. They don't make it easy for their opponents to play through the lines.

On the ball, their three forwards are encouraged to switch positions, making them a fluid, entertaining team. Both full-backs line up high and wide, while a pair of defensive midfielders hold the engine room together. Atalanta are a formidable counter-attacking side, only one team in Serie A produced more direct attacks last season.

Reteguis (above) Finishing and aerial strength must be respected and Belgian attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere is another opponent to be tied down closely in the final third. Their star, however, is Lookman. The Nigerian is a clever dribbler with blistering pace and the ability to strike the ball cleanly with either foot. He will cut forward from the left and look to create chaos whenever the hosts build an attack.

Gasperini has no problem putting his defenders in one-on-one situations, but longer passes or good runs from the third man can thwart them. They have conceded eight goals in their first four league games, the highest ever, and it will not have gone unnoticed that half of those goals have come from set pieces.

Facts and statistics

Only Real Sociedad (4) kept more clean sheets than we did (3) in last season's group stage. However, since a 3-0 win at Olympiakos in December 2015, we have not kept a clean sheet in our last 10 away games in this competition.

Only Atletico Madrid (+6.16) exceeded their xG total by a higher value than us in the last Champions League season (+5.49 – 19 goals with an xG of 13.51).

In Atalanta's 23 Champions League matches, they have scored 3.6 goals per game, the second highest number of all teams with more than 20 participations in the competition, behind Viktoria Plzen (3.8 per game).

Bukayo Saka was involved in eight goals in nine Champions League games last season – the most by an Englishman in his debut season at the club, beating the record set by Lee Bowyer for Leeds United in the 2000/01 season (6 goals, 1 assist).

Raheem Sterling could become the first player in European Cup history to play for four different English teams. He has previously played for Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea. Atalanta is the team he has scored the most goals against in the competition (5 – 4 goals, 1 assist), including a hat-trick in October 2019.

Gabriel Jesus scored in all four of his appearances in last season's Champions League. In the history of the competition, only Filippo Inzaghi, Diego Costa, Neymar and Sebastien Haller managed to score in each of their first five appearances for a particular club.

The Brazilian has been involved in 20 goals in his last 18 appearances in the competition (15 goals, 5 assists), with one goal and one assist in each of his last two appearances (Sevilla and Lens).

referee

Clement Turpin leads an all-French referee team. The experienced referee has been on the FIFA list since 2010 and has officiated matches at the last two World Cups and three European Championships, as well as the 2022 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

This is the sixth time the PE teacher has refereed for us and he has proved to be a lucky charm. We have not lost a single game he has refereed, most recently in March in a 1-0 win over Porto. That streak also includes a win in Italy – a 2-0 success at AC Milan in 2018.

Referee: Clement Turpin
Assistants: Nicolas Danos, Benjamin Pages
Fourth Official: Stephanie Frappart
VAR: Jérôme Brisard
VAR Assistant: Willy Delajod

Last trips to Italy

Italy has been a country we have enjoyed visiting on our European trips and in our 18 games there so far we have won seven and drawn five.

This is our first visit since April 2019, when we beat Napoli 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League thanks to an Alexandre Lacazette free-kick. The season before, we triumphed in Milan, beating AC 2-0 at the San Siro in the same competition.

However, in the Champions League we have lost our last three games in this country, even though this is our first game there since 2013. We suffered these defeats against Roma in 2009, AC Milan in 2012 and Napoli a year later.

Live broadcast

Tune in to Arsenal.com and the official app from 7.55pm UK time for live commentary of the match from the Gewiss Stadium, with Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke taking you through the action.

You will also find out which channels are broadcasting the event live, no matter where in the world you are.