Atalanta set to have ‘absolutely outstanding’ player unavailable to face Arsenal in Champions League tie

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The UEFA Champions League is back this week, and Arsenal will be keen to make an impact in the competition.

Mikel Arteta led the Gunners to the quarter-finals last season with Arsenal crashing out of the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich, with the north London side yet to win the competition in their history.

After a strong start to the new Premier League season, though, there is once again optimism that Arsenal could go deep in the Champions League with the tournament revamped from a group stage model to a league stage format.

And Arsenal’s first opponents, Atalanta, could now be without an important player for tomorrow’s tie.

Atalanta set to miss Ben Godfrey for Arsenal clash

According to Tutto Atalanta, the Bergamo club will be without summer signing Ben Godfrey to face Arsenal, with Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca also out with long-term injuries.

Once lauded by Rio Ferdinand as an ‘absolutely outstanding’ defender, Godfrey has endured a rough start to life at Atalanta since making the move to northern Italy from Everton in the summer transfer window.

Injuries and a lack of minutes have given the England international a less than ideal start to this new chapter in his career with Atalanta, with Godfrey now set to miss tomorrow night’s Champions League tie against Arsenal.

Yet for the Gunners, news that the former Premier League defender will be out could be a potential boost for Arsenal, with Arteta eager to get off to a perfect start in the Champions League with a shot at history on the line.

Arteta will want Arsenal to send out a statement in the Champions League

Arsenal are one of the best sides in Europe and under Arteta have become a team that could become a force to be reckoned with for years to come given how young the squad is.

And ahead of the first Champions League game of the season, Arteta will want to send a statement to the rest of teams eyeing European glory this year that Arsenal are here to challenge as well.

Indeed, Arsenal are more experienced and have a deeper squad than they did compared to last year’s team, and Arteta will be intent on making a splash in Europe, with Atalanta first up for the north London side.