Rice admits Arsenal ‘had to adjust’ against Atalanta | OneFootball

Arsenal star Declan Rice admits the Gunners had to ‘adjust’ against Atalanta: ‘They follow you all over the pitch.’

Atalanta and Arsenal made their 2024-25 Champions League debut on Thursday, ending in a goalless stalemate in Bergamo.

The Nerazzurri had a huge chance to take the lead in the second half when Italy star Mateo Retegui missed a penalty kick and saw David Raya make a second superb save on the rebound.

“It’s tough to win away in the Champions League. These are European champions. A really, really tough game,” Rice told TNT Sports.

“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.”

Can Arsenal be happy with an away draw in their opening Champions League game?

“I think it’s a good point to start from, but the ambition is to win every game,” the England international admitted.

“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.”

Atalanta’s next game in Serie A is against Cesc Fabregas’ Como on Monday, September 23. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini was delighted with his team’s performance last night, as he said the team played on Arsenal’s level.

La Dea have collected six points in the opening four league games.

Their next Champions League match is away at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, October 2.