Mikel Arteta has promised an acid test of Arsenal’s progress this week. As evidenced by this poor performance.They still have a lot of work to do.
But after getting past the first hurdle against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, it took two miraculous saves from David Ray to save captain Martin from defeat.The Arsenal manager hailed Raya as “unbelievable” and Gabriel Martinelli didn’t waste a late chance to secure victory and will be delighted to see his side return to north London with a one-point advantage over Atalanta.
More importantly, they have recorded four clean sheets in their five games thanks to Raya’s brilliant central defensive partnership with the brilliant Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba, even if Erling’s menace.Arteta insisted before kick-off that the meeting with Manchester City, where he played alongside Haaland, had no bearing on his team selection.
But Ødegaard’s continued absence saw Gabriel Jesus recalled after returning from a groin injury, while Kai Havertz was called upon to provide the creative spark to support the Brazil forward.
That contrasts with their domestic form, which saw them lose three of five away games in Europe last season and win all but one game in 2024, including a 0-0 draw against Manchester City in March.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side can begin their fourth Champions League campaign, but the previous three were against Manchester City; Points taken from Manchester United and Liverpool.At a stadium that has after a £100m renovation, home fans were shown a small stick with the words “liberi di sognare” before kick-off.
But Arsenal made the better start and Bukkayosaka came close to opening the scoring from a low free-kick which headed into the bottom corner until Marco Carnesecchi intervened.The Atalanta goalkeeper reacted quickly to keep out Thomas Partey’s follow-up before dispossessing Martinelli.Ademola Lookman, who was employed as No.10 by Gasperini, got the ball in Atalanta but Charles De Ketelaere fired just wide with their first goal. A measure of how they’ve grown into the game after a slow start is that, even if Raya hadn’t been tested, they had significantly more passes than Arsenal in the 35th minute.
On the other hand, Jesus – his first start since the end of April – looked rusty after twice snapping possessions.As the second half drew to a close, Arsenal could not have got off to a worse start, with Partey fouling Alderson in the center circle when he found the Brazilian again on the edge of his own box.There was little sign of actual contact, but Partey was confused by his challenge and referee Clément Turpin immediately pointed to the spot.
As the VAR decision was confirmed, Raya ran to Arsenal goalkeeper Iñaki Caña and consulted him.Regardless, the Spanish keeper was decisively effective as he cleared Mateo Retegui’s first-time effort before the penalty taker somehow managed to stop the subsequent header.
Then Arteta made two of the best saves of my career to save us during that time. Today he was incredible again,” praised Raya. Arteta immediately responded to the drama of the spot-kick by replacing Partey and Jesus with Jorginho and Leandro Trossard, but his side still couldn’t control it.
Instead, Former Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado scored another goal, but his effort from range was too high.Havertz made an immediate impact as he set up Martinelli as the Colombian moved closer to Raheem Sterling, who soon became the first Englishman to play for four different clubs.But the Brazilian was wasted and his powerful strike left the traveling fans disappointed behind the goal as Arsenal suffered a bruising defeat against Manchester City.
