Arsenal shared the points with Atalanta on Thursday night as they kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 0-0 draw at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo. Neither side created much in the way of chances in the first half, with Bukayo Saka 's effort from a free-kick the best of the opening 45 minutes, while Gabriel Martinelli 's strike that flashed over the bar from inside the box was never threatening the goalkeeper. The hosts almost got in front when Thomas Partey conceded a penalty early in the second half, only for David Raya to produce an impressive double save against Mateo Retegui to keep the score even.
Juan Cuadrado was next to come close to scoring with two efforts from outside of the box, before Arsenal's best chance of the second half fell to Martinelli, who missed the target after being played in by substitute Raheem Sterling . Not much urgency was shown after that effort, with the Gunners looking happy to take a point as they secured a well-deserved clean sheet amid a strong defensive performance. Positives A point away against the Europa League winners is something to build on for Arsenal in the league phase, during a performance in which they defended excellently throughout aside from giving away a penalty.
Negatives The Gunners could need to have more cutting edge going forward as they struggled to create a regular flow of chances. Martinelli had the best one and should have done better with it in the second half, but too often the final ball was over hit .