Atalanta vs Arsenal - team news and injury updates
Arteta's side travel to the Gewiss Stadium in very good mood, having just taken all the spoils in their North London Derby clash away to fierce rivals Tottenham - despite being without a host of key players during their 1-0 victory.
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Defender Gabriel Magalhaes rose highest to thump a header past Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario from close range - feeding off an in-swinging corner - which was eventually enough to gift Arsenal three points and all the bragging rights on derby day.
Beating Ange Postecoglou's side gets the first of three very difficult games out of the way, but a completely different test now looms in Arsenal's first Champions League game of the 2024/2025 campaign.
Spurs vs Arsenal (last 7 meetings)
Date
Result
15th Sept 2024
1-0 Arsenal win
28th April 2024
3-2 Arsenal win
24th Sept 2023
2-2 draw
15th Jan 2023
2-0 Arsenal win
1st Oct 2022
3-1 Arsenal win
12th May 2022
3-0 Spurs win
26th Sept 2021
3-1 Arsenal defeat
Atalanta were the side to end Bayer Leverkusen's unprecedented unbeaten run last season, handing Xabi Alonso's league champions their first and only 2023/24 defeat with a 3-0 victory over them in the Europa League final, so Gian Piero Gasperini's side are not to be underestimated.
Heading into the tie, Arteta will have star midfielder Declan Rice back in the team, and reports suggest that Bukayo Saka is likely to be available for Arsenal against Atalanta, having gone off against Spurs with cramp and nothing too serious.
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Takehiro Tomiyasu remains out with a knee injury, though, as does summer signing Mikel Merino. The latter is yet to feature after arriving from Real Sociedad, with Merino fracturing his shoulder in training. The Spaniard isn't expected to be back for weeks as a result, and question marks surround a few of his star teammates as well.
Indeed, there are doubts over the availability of Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), Riccardo Calafiori (calf) and captain Martin Odegaard (ankle) - who all missed the derby through injury.
Ornstein suggests Odegaard has "significant" Arsenal injury
Zinchenko, Calafiori and Odegaard could miss Atalanta as a result, but we will have to wait for official confirmation from Arteta.
Speaking on The Athletic's podcast this week, reliable journalist David Ornstein shared his view on the latter's ankle problem after hearing from the Arsenal boss. Ornstein suggests Odegaard has suffered a "significant" injury at Arsenal, after he was hauled off during Norway's 2-1 win over Austria in the Nations League last Monday.
“He was never going to make it, it was what Arteta said. And it looks like a significant injury, but look, we don't know," said Ornstein.
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“The last I heard, they didn't have full clarity from the scan still, because of the extent of the swelling, but the extent of the swelling concerns you, if you're an Arsenal fan.
“Because, maybe it could be quite tough, but there's an international break coming up as well, so they'll be praying that their creator in chief, their captain, is okay, but they will also have to cope without him if it is going to be a prolonged absence.”
Arteta sparked hope among supporters when the Spaniard refused to rule Odegaard out of the North London Derby on Sunday, but he wasn't included in the squad after all and remains a doubt for Thursday's 20:00 kick off.
The £240,000-per-week star is one of Arsenal's most crucial players, and Arteta will be keen to get him back out on the field as soon as possible.
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