Napoli boss Massimiliano Allegri faces Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in the Champions League
Napoli boss Massimiliano Allegri faces Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in the Champions League
Max Allegri has been full of praise ahead of Napoli’s opening Champions League fixture, naming Arsenal as ‘one of the best’ in Europe, while the Gli Azzurri’s captain, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, has warned the Gunners that the clash arrives at exactly the right time for his team.
The Gunners were narrowly defeated in the Champions League final in May, with Gabriel’s penalty miss being all that could separate them from winners PSG.
Last season’s Serie A runners-up Napoli host Arsenal at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday night, as the Gunners look to continue their perfect start to the 2026/27 season.
Napoli, meanwhile, have had a jittery start to their league campaign, losing their last two games and picking up just three points from a possible nine.
Allegri, who was appointed as Napoli manager just over three months ago, accepts his side’s poor start but is motivated to go into Wednesday’s game and cause some issues for the champions of England.
“[Wednesday night] is a different competition from Serie A, a sort of mini-league, where we need 12 points to secure qualification for the next round,” Allegri said.
“We are up against one of the best; Europe gives you different motivation and adrenaline. When we don’t have the ball, we must defend better as a team, because so far against both Como and Inter, we left something to be desired on that front.
“We’ve got to take it one step at a time, but also have faith, because the Champions League is an ambition we must all have. This will push us forward.”
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Allegri hails Arteta and his impressive Arsenal turnaround
Allegri has also spoken highly of Arteta’s work since coming in at Arsenal, where he has provided a Premier League title, an FA Cup, three Community Shields, and a Champions League final most recently.
Allegri said: “Arsenal are the Champions League finalists and won the Premier League; Mikel Arteta has done an extraordinary job in the last four years.
“He did well to sort out their defence, as Arsenal concede very few goals, and they work together as a team. It’s their greatest strength.
“We know the difficulties of this match, which we must go into with pride and the desire to do well.”
Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo also praised Arsenal, admitting that it would be no easy test but believing his side will react well after two straight defeats.
“This game arrives at the right time, as it’s good after a defeat to get straight back out there,” the Italy international said.
“We want to start strong in the Champions League; we’re ready for a good game and analysed the errors that we made last week.
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“In the Champions League, the level is so high that you are punished by the tiniest error, so we need the perfect performance in order to get a result.
“We’ve got to try to defend as a unit to control certain moments of the match better and understand what is happening. We’ve also got to defend with the ball.
“This is a strong team, an important test to see our level in a great competition, where we want to do better than last season.”
The two sides face off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday evening.