Max Allegri pinpoints what Arsenal 'are very good at' after making Champions League claim

Allegri said Napoli were simply second best (Picture: Shutterstock)

Napoli head coach Massimiliano Allergi has conceded ‘there was nothing his side could do’ up against ‘one of the strongest teams in Europe’ in Arsenal.

The Gunners got their Champions League campaign off a winning start with Martin Odegaard’s second-half goal sealing victory at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side were in control throughout the contest but passed up a number of opportunities to take the lead – registering 26 shots in total – before their captain stepped up.

It was another defeat for Napoli who have lost three in a row in all competitions, beaten by Como and Inter in Serie A leading into last night’s game.

Speaking after the game Allegri praised the strength of Arteta’s ‘extraordinary’ side, seeing little wrong in his side’s performance where they simply came up second best. The Italian also highlighted the opposition’s slick one-twos that caused problems for his side all night.

‘We played a good match against one of the strongest teams in Europe. The first half was very even, then they upped the tempo in the second,’ Allegri said.

‘We defended well; if we had defended like that against Como and Inter, we probably wouldn’t have lost. We need to look at the positives. Then, if you mess up the final pass, you risk conceding a goal, as happened.

‘I think this evening we had a good performance against an extraordinary opponent.’

Odegaard scored the game’s only goal (Picture: Shutterstock Editorial)

He continued: ‘We knew it would be a tough one. We’re coming off three consecutive defeats, but we can’t get discouraged because I can’t fault the lads for anything today. When we defend like that, it’s difficult to score.’

Asked if there was anything else his side could have done, he added: ‘No, not tonight. Unfortunately, we fell for a one-two that we didn’t follow through on. They’re very good at that.’