Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio 0 - 0 Arsenal - Match Report

Yet again this season, David Raya was our hero as we returned from Italy with a point following a goalless draw with Atalanta.

It wasn’t exactly the way we wanted to start our Champions League campaign, but we had our goalkeeper to thank for preventing us falling behind thanks to a superb penalty save to deny Mateo Retegui on 51 minutes, keeping out the initial attempt before his incredible reactions saw him again thwart the striker when he looked set to net the rebound.

Chances were at a premium for both sides throughout, and while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli both went close for us, no-one could quite break the deadlock.

A first Champions League game in three years ensured a packed house at the Gewiss Stadium, but the first half couldn’t quite live up to the spectacle it was being played within.

The opening 20 minutes did see us create some good chances as we attempted to silence the home support, and none better than when we won a free-kick 20 yards from goal. Saka whipped it low towards the bottom corner but Marco Carnesecchi made a good stop and did well to prevent Thomas Partey from sneaking in the rebound.

Martinelli fired a half-chance well over from inside the box on 17 minutes, but from that point onwards the half became an error-strewn affair with both teams struggling to keep possession, which led to a scarcity of chances.

A Charles de Ketelaere attempt that flew over the angle of post and bar just before the half-hour mark was the only other incident of note before Clement Turpin blew his whistle for the interval.

However the second half took two minutes to burst into life, but not in the way we would have liked when Ederson slipped past Partey into the box and saw his heel clipped by the Ghana captain. Turpin pointed to the spot and after a lengthy VAR check, the decision was upheld.

With four goals in his first four Serie A games, Mateo Retegui stepped up confidently, but while Raya saved his low effort, the ball spun back to the striker. It seemed that the net was destined to bulge, but in a similar fashion to his save at Aston Villa last month, our number one lept up and produced a reflex save to claw the ball off his goalline to keep us level.

Despite escaping that warning, we continued to struggle to impose ourselves on proceedings and the hosts continued to create opportunities. Juan Cuadrado’s blast from 25 yards failed to trouble Raya as it fizzed over the crossbar midway through the second 45, and the Colombian had a second go on 73 minutes which whistled just off target.

But seconds later we finally crafted out another sight of goal when a fresh Raheem Sterling nudged the ball through for Martinelli who escaped behind the defence, but being off-balance when trying to round Carmesecchi caused him to shoot well over.

That was as good as it got for both sides as the game once again fizzled out, and ensured both started the new league phase of the competition with a point apiece.

We head to Manchester City on Sunday for the biggest game of the campaign so far, as we tackle the reigning champions at the Etihad Stadium. Following that, we're in Carabao Cup action when Bolton Wanderers visit Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, followed by Leicester City on Saturday, September 28.