Remember when there was a debate over whether Arsenal actually needed to sign David Raya?
The Spain international’s magnificent double save helped his team emerge from an awkward test against Atalanta with a clean sheet and a point from their opening Champions League fixture.
Raya first dived to his right to deny Mateo Retegui from the penalty spot then, as the striker leapt to nod in the rebound, sprung to his feet and across his goal line to paw away the follow-up. That maintained his excellent early season form and ensured the visitors retained a level of control in Italy.
The flurry of action stood out as exceptional in a tightly contested game. Bukayo Saka tested Marco Carnesecchi, low down to his right, in the first half, while Gabriel Martinelli fired over the bar after the break. But Atalanta posed 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 few reasons. Firstly, he picked his side before the striker struck the ball which allowed him to reach it with ease. Secondly, the speed at which he sprung up and across to claw the rebound away from goal showed his reactions at Villa Park last month were not a one-off.
His discussion with goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana during the VAR check for the penalty was likely just as important. Rather than waiting on his line for the spot kick to take place, the Spaniard rushed over to Cana on the sidelines to take on instruction, which could have given him the confidence to choose his side early.
“I took the decision to go to the sideline because they took a long time to decide if it was a penalty,” Raya told TNT Sports. “I just spoke to the goalkeeper coach to see what way to go. Credit to him as well for the save.”
Raya and Cana during the VAR check (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Raya’s second save was very similar to the one he conjured to thwart Ollie Watkins at Villa Park.
“It is a very repetitive save in training during all my years as a footballer, because we do this exercise of throwing yourself, getting up and going towards another ball,” he explained of that Villa save 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 replicate 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 crucial saves against Wolves and Brighton have also made his signing look better with each game that passes. He has conceded only once this season, kept four clean sheets in five games, and established himself as key to this team’s progress.
Art de Roché
How did Arsenal look to overcome the Atalanta press?
Mikel Arteta would not have been surprised at all by Atalanta’s approach at the Gewiss Stadium.
“It’s very difficult to play against them,” Arteta said on the eve of the game. “They have a particular playing style which you see week-in, week-out and it’s very challenging for opponents coming up against them.”
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are known for their aggressive, hard-working man-for-man press. It stifled some of Europe’s best clubs last season, as neither Liverpool nor Bayer Leverkusen had an answer to such an awkward approach during Atalanta’s route to Europa League glory.
The best way to overcome the tactical headache? Rotations.
Gasperini greets Arteta prior to 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 would split wide across the pitch, allowing right-back Jurrien Timber to drift between or Thomas Partey and Declan Rice to drop deeper from midfield.
At times, Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus would even drop into midfield areas to collect the ball and shake off their marker, daring the Atalanta players either to follow them and compromise their structure or allow Arsenal to have the ball in pockets of space.
In truth, Atalanta adapted well to Arsenal’s antidote with clear communication when passing on their markers. Arsenal were occasionally 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 relinquishing possession.
It was a tactical slugging match of sorts, and although it ended goalless you would imagine that both managers will be satisfied 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 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 over those seasons from TV and prize money, as well as a best-in-class player-trading 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’s chief executive Luca Percassi called it a “masterpiece” on RAI radio show La Politica nel Pallone last week. Atalanta have kept the old stone and woodwork. The press stand and gantry are underneath 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 a theatre,” Atalanta coach Gasperini told DAZN after his team inaugurated it by coming back from 2-1 down to beat Fiorentina 3-2. Only Bergamasco contractors were used in the €100million (£84m; $111.6m) reconstruction. Gewiss, to whom the naming rights were sold, is a local company.
Thursday’s game against Arsenal was the first time Atalanta got to experience 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 been run for the last eight years.
James Horncastle
How key were Arsenal’s ball recoveries?
Arsenal’s defence has rightfully received a lot of 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 from generating a dangerous counter-attack. On the occasions they did give up possession in advanced areas, Arsenal’s forwards were quick to sprint back and recover their shape 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 win, Arsenal were not throwing waves of attacks at Atalanta. They had encouraging moments but were comfortable enough to concede possession to the hosts with confidence in their back line.
Their organisation made Atalanta work for their openings, none of which were clear-cut in the first half. Arsenal had more of the ball after Raya’s penalty heroics and Jorginho’s introduction off 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 successive games is not a major surprise. And they visit the Premier League champions on Sunday.
It will not 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 during their last game at the Etihad Stadium.
Martinelli missed Arsenal’s best opportunity (Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
A few moments did offer glimpses of how they could attack City without their main creative spark in Odegaard.
Arsenal goalkeepers have mixed up their distribution in recent seasons, and Rice joining Havertz in the front line gave the Spaniard two aerial targets instead of one. Rice helped Arsenal create a platform to generate chances from in the first half. Their best chance of the second half came when Raheem Sterling showed a clean touch and set up Martinelli after Havertz brought the ball out of the sky.
Martinelli skewed his effort, but having that option in possession could help Arsenal navigate tricky moments well at the Etihad and, if needed, turn the momentum of the game.
Art de Roché
Is Serie A frustrating the Premier League contingent?
So much of the focus on tonight’s game was taken up by Arsenal’s absences in Bergamo. Would they cope as well against Atalanta as against Tottenham, for example? What of the attritional 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 matched Ruud Gullit’s record for goals from midfield by a Dutchman in Serie A, forced a move to Juventus. Ademola Lookman, the hat-trick hero from last season’s Europa League final, tried to follow him on the way out. His stand-off with the club only ended after the window closed.
And yet Atalanta showed on Thursday why they’re still a match for Europe’s elite.
The Atalanta supporters’ pre-match tifo prior to kick-off (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Were it not for Raya’s double save on Retegui, who has started the season in excellent form, they might have recorded another famous win to go with those against Liverpool, Ajax and the previously undefeated Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin in May.
AC Milan aside, the last two nights of Champions League action have been a good illustration of how competitive Serie A sides are against top Premier League opposition. Inter Milan, for instance, 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 dugout and from a core of players who, throughout the last few years, have clocked up multiple finals, foreign and domestic. There was some consternation when Serie A topped the UEFA co-efficient last season, winning the league a deserved fifth place in the Champions League.
This gameweek, once again, showed it was no fluke.
James Horncastle
What did Mikel Arteta say?
Arteta, speaking to TNT Sports, on Raya’s intervention: “We had not conceded many chances apart from the penalty but, at that moment, we needed probably one of the best saves I’ve seen in my career — both the penalty and the second action from David. He was unbelievable again today.”
On the team’s performance: “We could not get any rhythm or momentum, or sequences of passes that would allow us to play as we wanted. But this was a game that demands the best individually, and in order to do that you need to have your players at their best: really composed, really good in duels. Certainly tonight we missed that. We need to improve.”
What next for Arsenal?
Sunday, September 22: Manchester City (A), Premier League, 16:30 (GMT), 11:30 (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)
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