Arsenal Are A Great Team’ — Allegri Reacts To Napoli’s Champions League Defeat

Napoli manager Massimiliano Allegri has praised Arsenal as a “great team” after his side suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Gunners in their opening UEFA Champions League fixture on Wednesday night.

According to Ireporter Online, Martin Odegaard scored the decisive goal in the 75th minute at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to give Arsenal victory in a match largely controlled by the visitors.

Arsenal created several opportunities before eventually breaking the deadlock, with Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, Piero Hincapie and Noni Madueke among those who missed chances.

The Gunners recorded 26 shots during the encounter compared with Napoli’s five, while the Italian side managed an expected goals figure of just 0.22.

Arsenal’s defensive organisation also restricted Napoli from creating significant opportunities, leaving goalkeeper David Raya with relatively little to do throughout the game.

Allegri acknowledged that Napoli struggled to compete with Arsenal but praised the English side for their overall display.

“Arsenal are a great team. We needed to be patient in not conceding,” he told Sky Sport.

“We raised our level. We could’ve not conceded, and we could’ve scored. We need to analyse our mistakes. The first half we could’ve done better on a technical level.

“But Arsenal put in a great performance to be able to score. They are a great side.”

Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo also admitted that Arsenal demonstrated their quality and urged his teammates to learn from the defeat.

“They are a fantastic side. We had some potential chances and could have done better. There are seven other games still,” Di Lorenzo said.

“We have to keep working hard and avoid certain mistakes in the future.”

The victory gives Arsenal a positive start to their Champions League campaign, while Napoli will look to recover in their remaining league-phase fixtures.