Champions League: Gasperini on ‘beautiful’ Arsenal, Arteta respect and De Rossi dismissal | OneFootball

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has warned his players not to get ahead of themselves after last season’s Europa League victory, as he expects tough tests every game in the Champions League, starting with the visit from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on Thursday.

Gasperini sat down for his customary pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of the visit from Arsenal.

The coach has no specific targets for the Arsenal game, but insists that finishing in the top 24 at the end of the League Phase is all that interests him.

“The goal is to stay in. It will be difficult to get into the top eight. To stay between ninth and 24th, we have to pick up points in every game. We start with a really tough test, but it is an opportunity to measure ourselves,” Gasperini said, reported via TMW.

“We’ve been playing in Europe for several years now, it’s clear that continuity has allowed us to continue growing.

“We’ve done well a few times in the Champions League, even in difficult groups. We wasted the Europa League quarter-final against RB Leipzig three years ago. Last year we had a fantastic run, now we’re competing in a competition where there are several teams at a higher level.”

Gasperini gives Arsenal and Arteta assessments

Gasperini labelled Arsenal a ‘beautiful’ team to watch, and was full of praise for Mikel Arteta, despite having never met him in-person.

“They are a team I really like, they are very compact, organised, they are a good example of how to play football. The results speak for themselve, even if they weren’t able to win the Premier League. “I don’t know him personally, but as a coach he has all my respect. It’s a beautiful team to watch.”

Gasperinin also expressed his sympathies for Daniele De Rossi, who was officially sacked from his position as head coach of his beloved Roma on Wednesday. Gasp feels that the long summer transfer window may have been part of the reason why the Giallorossi have struggled so far this season.

“De Rossi’s dismissal surprised me a lot. This season started difficultly for all the coaches, there were so many changes after the transfer window. What has been said plenty of times before, the transfer market allows for changes when the season has already started and probably nothing will be done about it.

“That makes the coach’s job difficult. We spent a month and a half twiddling our thumbs, or training guys who ended up leaving. It takes a bit of time for everyone. Playing football is not about selecting a load of players who have just arrived.

“I’m sorry because the coach pays the sacrifice more and more these days, I believe that the job gets less and less credit.”