Atalanta v Arsenal: Champions League – live

David Hytner can’t help but look ahead to that Sunday meeting with City.

Early team news

Kieran Tierney, Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu all out, with Martin Odegaard on that list for the foreseeable, it seems. Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori are ready. Gabriel Jesus to return? Bukayo Saka to be rested? It’s still a strong hand Mikel Arteta has to play.

Ademola Lookman, Wandsworth’s finest, the hero of Lansdowne Road, is expected to start amid a bit of an injury crisis for Gasperini. Defence is robbed Ben Godfrey, once of Everton, young prospect Giorgio Scalvini, and club captain Rafael Toloi are all out and so is West Ham “legend” Gianluca Scamacca.

Perhaps this is the tie of the opening round of the Swiss system. Atalanta were glorious winners of the Europa League, boxing off Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin. Gian Piero Gasperini is one of the wiliest foxes ever to do it. And he’s back for more.

And Arsenal are, well, becoming rather like Arsenal these days: powerful, defensively strong, full of European experience. That win over Tottenham at the weekend was far more George Graham than Arsene Wenger. The Premier League remains the priority, and that’s back on track after Sunday, though Manchester City loom too, this Sunday. And this is already Thursday.

Kick-off in Bergamo is 8pm UK time.