Atalanta vs Arsenal: Champions League – live | Champions League

5 minutes: Goalkeeper Carnesecchi clears Rice's corner. Still, it looked dangerous. The Gunners' ability to take set pieces is very reassuring for those of us who remember their 1990s.

4 minutes: It's Jesus who leads the Gunners' pressure. He then wins the ball high up, Saka intervenes and his shot rebounds, giving a corner. Watch out, set piece!

3 minutes: As expected, Atalanta play far forward, which means the Gunners' defenders have to be confident with their passes in defence.

And here we go…

There goes the anthem, and Mikel Arteta and Gasperini share a moment full of smiles and warmth.

Kick-off in Bergamo is approaching. And that means Arsenal are just 137 games away from the final in Munich. Where in the top 36 will they end up? Bergamo is hosting the games these days. Four years ago – and fatefully during the Covid-20 outbreak – Atalanta travelled to Milan for their Champions League games.

Krishna reports: “The alphabetical clash in this new 'clear' draw will be an interesting one. As you said, Arsenal is Arsenal and a team that beat Bayer Leverkusen is not to be taken lightly.”

Yes, Leverkusen have crushed Feyenoord while we wait for kick-off. They won 4-0 and were four goals ahead at half-time.

Peter Oh is there: “Greetings from California, where it's almost lunchtime. The Atalanta goalkeeper's last name – Carnesecchi – is Italian and means 'dried meat'. Combined with Arsenal's rice, this game arguably makes the tastiest game on today's Champions League menu!”

And Charles Antaki: “So we'll get another look at good old Sead Kolašinac – a player Arsenal fans have mixed memories of: at first glance he looked like a pretty impressive tank, charging up and down the left flank; but then, as is inevitable with tanks, his mobility and vulnerability were eventually exposed and exploited by the opposition. A pity. But for many, the lasting image will be this still quite disturbing footage of him fending off armed attackers on the high streets of north London. Give them hell, Sead! (Preferably not tonight).”

These teams in detail:

Atalanta – Statistics & current form Carnesecchi, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson Silva, Ruggeri, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Retegui. Substitutes: Rui Patricio, Rossi, Kossounou, Cuadrado, Pasalic, Zaniolo, Bellanova, Palestra, Brescianini, Vlahovic, Del Lungo, Samardzic.

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Havertz, Partey, Rice, Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli. Substitutes: Neto, Kiwior, Sterling, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Oulad M'Hand, Butler-Oyedeji, Gower, Porter, Jorginho, Trossard.

Referee: Clement Turpin (Bourgogne)

Timber also as left back. That was the plan a year ago until an injury got in the way. Riccardo Calafiori is on the bench after returning from his own injury.

As predicted: Jesus for Arsenalwith Saka, despite his cramp against Spurs. Lookman is there for Atalanta, former Gunner Sead Kolasinac plays with former Chelsea player Davide Zappacosta.

The starting teams

David Hytner can't help but look forward to the meeting with City on Sunday.

Early team news

Kieran Tierney, Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all out, with Martin Odegaard on the list for the foreseeable future, it seems. Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori are ready. Gabriel Jesus returns? Bukayo Saka rested? Mikel Arteta still has strong cards.

Ademola Lookman, Wandsworth's best player and Lansdowne Road hero, is expected to start as Gasperini has a slight injury crisis. The defence is depleted: Ben Godfrey, formerly of Everton, young talent Giorgio Scalvini and club captain Rafael Toloi are out, as is West Ham 'legend' Gianluca Scamacca.

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