Atalanta spurned a golden chance to kick off their first Champions League campaign since 2021/22 on the front foot. Mateo Retegui fluffed his lines from the spot as Arsenal left the Gewiss Stadium unscathed, holding Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to a 0-0 draw.
In all fairness, it was a game of very few chances. Atalanta and Arsenal both looked more oriented toward keeping a clean sheet than finding the back of the net. However, La Dea had a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock at the start of the second half.
In-form Retegui assumed the responsibility for the penalty after Thomas Party tackled Ederson in the box. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya came out victorious, denying the Atalanta center-forward in the follow-up to deny the Bergamo outfit a dream European opener.
Gasperini regrets the missed chance, but there was nothing he could complain about his team’s approach last night. Atalanta went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in Europe.
“The penalty is always a great opportunity, even if there was still a long way away. Going up 1-0 would have been important, but, in any case, we have to be happy with the performance,” the Atalanta boss said, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio.
“We played a level match against a great team. On the rebound Retegui could have done more, sorry because he had played a great game, perhaps the best since he has been here; The goal would have been a nice reward.
“The defensive work done tonight by the forwards we hardly had in the other games,” the Atalanta manager continued. “If we can have this participation from the forwards, then it is clear that we can field a few more offensive players on the field.
“In the final Arsenal seemed to me to want to settle for a draw, we lacked the play that could have allowed us to win the game.“
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