Atalanta vs Arsenal LIVE: Champions League team news and line-ups as Gabriel Jesus one of two Gunners changes

This is Arsenal’s first trip to Italy in the Champions League since 2013, and the Gunners have lost their last three Champions League games there. Those defeats came at Roma (0-1 in 2009), Milan (0-4 in 2012) and Napoli (0-2 in 2013).

The Gunners’ last trip to Italy, though, came in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2018/19. After securing a 2-0 home win, Unai Emery’s side won 1-0 away to progress.

Atalanta have had quite the Serie A story, rising from relative obscurity to becoming one of the league’s most intriguing sides.

Giasperini was appointed in June 2016 and the club’s fortunes immediately changed as the Italian, alongside players such as Papu Gomez, Josep Ilicic and a youngAlessandro Bastoni, led them to 4th place in Serie A.

Giasperini has kept the club in the right half of the league table ever since, finishing seventh and eighth on one occasion each but finishing third three seasons in a row between 2019 and 2021. In addition, Atalanta have been runners-up in the Coppa Italia three times during his tenure.

Despite becoming something of a Champions League regular in recent seasons, Atalanta’s crowning glory came last season, with a win in the Europa League final giving them just their second ever major trophy (after a Coppa Italia in 1962/63).

Players to watch: Ederson, Ademola Lookman, Charles De Ketelaere, Mateo Retegui.

Arsenal will be the fifth English side that Atalanta have met in major European competition, after Everton (W2), Man City (D1 L1), Liverpool (W2 L2) and Man Utd (D1 L1). The Bergamo-based side beat Liverpool over two legs last season in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Atalanta’s last four UEFA Champions League games – which came in the 2021/22 group stage – have seen both them and their opponents score two or more goals (D2 L2). In the entire history of the European Cup, no side has ever both scored and conceded two-plus goals in five consecutive matches.

Atalanta include Europa League hat-trick hero Ademola Lookman in their starting XI, as well as former Gunner Sead Kolasinac.

Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson Silva, Ruggeri, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui

These two sides have never met before, and their first meeting pits the Europa League winners against the Premier League’s nearly side.

These are two teams who have impressed a great deal over the last season, with the reign of Mikel Arteta bringing a similar growth and stability of that of Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta.

The Italian has been at the helm since 2016, and marked the best moment of his tenure with last season’s Europa League final win over a previously unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin, courtesy of a brilliant performance from Ademola Lookman.

Atalanta currently sit ninth in Serie A though, having been beaten 4-0 by Inter Milan at the end of August.

Gabriel Jesus scored in all four of his Champions League starts for Arsenal last season – with all four coming in the group stages.

The Brazilian has played just 17 minutes this season, but captains Arsenal tonight in the absence of Martin Odegaard.

Mikel Arteta makes two changes to his team that started against Tottenham at the weekend. Declan Rice returns from suspension and replaces Jorginho in midfield, while there is a surprise up front as Gabriel Jesus is handed a start. Leandro Trossard drops to the bench, with Kai Havertz expected to play in midfield.

Bukayo Saka is passed fit, Riccardo Calafiori is on the bench and there’s no Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.

Subs: Neto, Porter, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Kiwior, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Gower, S. Oulad-M’Hand, Trossard, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji.

Plenty of questions surrounding how Arsenal will set up this evening, having got through last weekend’s north London derby unscathed but with Manchester City away at the Etihad to come this Sunday, 22 September.

The new format of the Champions League means that tonight is far from a must-win game for the Gunners, so it stands to reason that Mikel Arteta will rest several of his key players tonight. Anyone who started last week’s win at Spurs in contention to start on the bench this evening, from William Saliba and Gabriel to Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz – however, the bench at Spurs was probably a little too inexperienced for Arteta to make too many changes.

Declan Rice could feature after sitting out last weekend through suspension, while Gabriel Jesus could start in place of Havertz and Raheem Sterling could make his first start for the club. And could Ethan Nwaneri feature from kick-off?

Arteta is a fan of continuity in his starting line-ups, but with such a tough test ahead on Sunday, who knows what the Spaniard will set up with tonight.

We’ll find out in about 15 minutes.

In some of the difficult early seasons in north London, and even when things started to pick up and there was interest elsewhere, there was a particular motivation that drove Mikel Arteta. That was to become the first manager to win the Champions League for Arsenal. While returning the Premier League trophy to the club has obviously been just as high, Europe’s greatest prize was repeatedly mentioned. There would obviously be something unique, and euphoric, about achieving that. You only had to see the glee on his face when Arsenal finally got back into the Champions League again last season. It was visible once more on Wednesday night, as he spoke about preparing for the Atalanta game and the heightened stage.

This is where the club belongs.

It is by now a well-worn discussion to ponder whether Arsenal are the biggest club to never win the Champions League, especially since it’s probably true. It also remains remarkable that London clubs as a whole only have two, both through Chelsea’s victories under Roman Abramovich in 2012 and 2021, respectively.