Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta always thought that his former teacher Pep Guardiola is a great manager and tried to emulate him. He also build Arsenal in the last three seasons in order to surpass Manchester City and some of his decisions looked dubious. Apart from selling the club‘s captain Aubemyang, buying David Raya and installing him as the first-choice goalkeeper while Aaron Ramsdale was in form was the most controversial one. But the Spanish coach stick with his guns and proved everyone that he was right. And his fellow countryman repaid that trust (again) tonight, when he saved the penalty twice an gave his team it‘s first point in the Champions League: Atalanta – Arsenal 1-1.🚨🚨 WHAT A DOUBLE SAVE FROM DAVID RAYA!pic.twitter.com/EwbbQeGU1U— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) September 19, 2024 Whoever thought that the second best English club will easily win against Atalanta in Bergamo doesn‘t know football at all. The Italian team is well prepared, tactically perfect and won the Europa League by defeating the undefeated Bayer Leverkusen. Gasperini‘s boys managed stop and slow down the Gunners, who mustered only two really good chances, but failed to convert them. In a game like this, one moment would decide the winner and Atalanta had that moment with the penalty kick, but Raya not only saved the initial shot, but also the rebound with followed and saved his team. 4/8 – Including shootouts, David Raya has saved four of his last eight penalties faced for Arsenal in all competitions. Wall. pic.twitter.com/oWkY5FnUNc— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 19, 2024 Arsenal players were probably angry with themselves for missing opportunities at the start of the match. Even thou they were the home team, Atalanta looked a big confused during the first 20 minutes and allowed the Gunners two really good opportunities to score. First it was Havertz with a chance when Jesus passed him the ball, but the German international shot the ball near the post. Minutes later, Saka made a fantastic shot from the free kick, but keeper Carnessechi somehow managed to get to the low post to defend it. Partney then ran over to score with the deflection but Atalanta keeper was again there.The start of the second half also brought excitement. Partney tripped Ederson in the penalty area and VAR confirmed referees decision after a lengthy check. Retegui took a shot but Raya made a double save, first from initial shot and then when the rebound reached Retegui, he jumped like a cat and prevented his header from crossing the goal line. And just like in the first half, the excitement and the chances just faded away. Martinelli had the best oppourtunity of all players and he will be angry with himself. It was great work from Sterling who latched onto a loose ball and found the pass through to Martinelli despite the tight space. The Brazilian had just the goalkeeper to beat, but leans back and blazed over the bar to the dismay of Arteta. UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 1TuesdayJuventus – PSV 3-1 (2-0)/Yildiz 21, McKennie 27, Gonzales 52 – Saibari 90+3/Young Boys – Aston Villa 0-3 (0-2)/Tielemans 27, Ramsey 38, Onana 85/AC Milan – Liverpool 1-3 (1-2)/Pulisic 3 – Konate 23, van Dijk 41, Szoboszlai 67/Bayern – Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 (3-0)/Kane 19 pen, 58, 63 pen, 78 pen Guerreiro 33, Olise 38, 61, Sane 85, Goretzka 90+2 – Petkovic 49, Ogiwara 50/Real Madrid – Stuttgart 3-1 (0-0)/Mbappe 46, Rudiger 83, Endrick 90+5 – Undav 68/Sporting – Lille 2-0 (1-0)/Gyokeres 38, Debast 65/WednesdayBologna – Shakhtar 0-0Sparta Praha – Salzburg 3-0 (2-0)/Kairinen 2, Olatunji 42, Laci 58/Celtic- Slovan B. 5-1 (1-0)/Scales 17, Furuhashi 47, Englels 56, Maeda 70, Idah 86/Club Brugge – Dortmund 0-3 (0-0)/Gittens 76, 86, Guirassy 90+5 (p)/Man.City – Inter 0-0PSG – Girona 1-0 (0-0)/Gazzaniga (og) 90/ThursdayCrvena Zvezda – Benfica 1-2 (0-2)/Milson 86 – Artukoglu 9, Kokcu 29/Feyenoord – Leverkusen 0-4 (0-4)/Wirtz 9, 36, Grimaldo 30, Wellenreuther 44(og)/Atalanta – Arsenal 0-0Atl.Madrid – RB Leipzig 2-1 (1-1)/Griezmann 28, Gimenez 90 – Šeško 4/Brest – Sturm 2-1 (1-1)/Magnetti 23, Sima 56 – Fernandes 45+1(og)Monaco – Barcelona 2-1 (1-1)/Akliouche 16, Ilenikhena 71- Yamal 28/
