Arsenal’s continued search for their first Champions League triumph sees them face off against Europa League winners Atalanta in their first continental clash of 2024/25.

The Gunners head into Thursday’s battle in Bergamo with bragging rights in the bag after Sunday’s 1-0 away victory in the north London derby with Tottenham Hotspur. The result moved them into second place in the Premier League and two points off defending champions Manchester City prior to the two sides meeting this weekend.

Mikel Arteta’s side reached the quarter-final of the Champions League last season but were dumped out at the last eight by Bayern Munich. In this term’s expanded competition, the Gunners will be aiming to better their 2023/24 performance.

Atalanta will prove a challenging test on Arsenal’s return to Europe. Having won last season’s Europa League, La Dea have made a mixed start to this term, recovering from two successive defeats to beat Fiorentina 3-2 at the weekend. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have already played on the continent this campaign, losing 2-0 to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.

Here is your guide to Arsenal’s trip to Italy this Thursday.

Location: Bergamo, Italy
Stadium: Gewiss Stadium
Date: Thursday 19 September
Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 OT
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA)
VAR: Jerome Brisard (FRA)

Atalanta vs Arsenal H2H Record

Atalanta and Arsenal have never played one another in a competitive fixture.

Current form (all competitions)

Atalanta are missing some key contributors, with former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca a big absence following his ACL injury. Highly-rated defender Giorgio Scalvini is missing with the same issue.

Ex-Everton defender Ben Godfrey and experienced centre-back Rafael Toloi are both out of action for the next few weeks, paving the way for Sead Kolasinac to line up against his former employers in Bergamo.

Summer signing Mateo Retegui has made a lightning fast start to life at the Gewiss Stadium, scoring four Serie A goals in as many games, and Ademola Lookman – scorer of a hat-trick in last season’s Europa League final – will be searching for a first goal against Arsenal on his fifth attempt.

Atalanta predicted lineup vs Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui.

Martin Odegaard missed the north London derby on Sunday after sustaining an injury over the international break and he will be missing again this Thursday. The Norwegian has company in the treatment room in the form of Mikel Merino and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Bukayo Saka left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with an injury but it remains to be seen how serious his issue is ahead of Thursday’s clash. The Englishman is very robust and rarely misses matches.

Gabriel Jesus returned against Spurs but Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney all missed the trip. The good news for Arteta is that he welcomes Declan Rice back to his starting lineup after he missed the journey to Tottenham due to suspension.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Atalanta (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Rice, Partey, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.

Atalanta proved their worth in the Europa League last season with victories over Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen en route to the trophy, keeping clean sheets in two convincing 3-0 victories. However, their man-to-man system that attempts to smother the opposition does leave them open at the back if their opponents are brave on the ball.

Arsenal are an incredibly press resistant team with some excellent technicians and calm heads, much like Serie A champions Inter who put four unanswered goals past Atalanta earlier this season. Boasting the sternest defence in Europe, the Gunners are significant favourites for their tricky trip to Bergamo.

Prediction: Atalanta 0-2 Arsenal

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