Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has praised Atalanta after the Gunners played a 0-0 draw in Italy on Thursday night.
It was Arsenal’s first game of the Champions League campaign. The Gunners might consider themselves lucky as it took an incredible double save from David Raya to stop a Mateo Retegui penalty and the follow up in the 51st minute. Arsenal were able to see out the game despite absorbing a lot of pressure from the Italian side in the second half.
Before the game, Mikel Arteta spoke on Arsenal’s away record in Europe. Last season, the Gunners only managed one win away from home in the group stages of the Champions League. Thursday night’s result means the English club have just one win in their last five Champions League games away from home.
Declan Rice says Atalanta are a difficult opponent
After the game, Declan Rice spoke on the result. He highlighted how difficult Atalanta made the game, and how they tactically overwhelmed Arsenal:
“It’s tough to win away in the Champions League. These are European champions. A really, really tough game,”
“They’ve had the same manager for nine years, and they play man-to-man all over the pitch, and it’s not easy. You had to adjust. The main thing is that we defended well. The high press was good, but we can be 10-15 times better with the ball.
“They [Atalanta] have played the same way under this coach for so long, and they are a really tough team to crack. They follow you all over the pitch, it’s hard to adjust.”
Atalanta had more shots on target than Arsenal on Thursday night.
Avoiding defeat is the best way to start European campaign
Rice also mentioned that avoiding losing their first game against Atalanta was crucial, considering the upcoming fixtures:
“I think it’s a good point to start from, but the ambition is to win every game,”
“We have a tough group as well, with some tough games coming in. We know we have to win with this format. The next home game is against PSG. We’ll take one game at a time.
“We are delighted with another clean sheet. I can’t speak highly enough of the two centre-halves; the keeper is going to the next level, unbelievable. They love defending.”
Arsenal are away at the Etihad this weekend as they face Premier League holders Manchester City. Mikel Arteta’s team are coming off the back of a crucial win against Spurs in the North London derby last weekend.
