Allegri confirms McTominay and Anguissa out, Neres a doubt

Napoli's head coach ruled out two midfielders on the eve of the Champions League opener against Arsenal, while captain Di Lorenzo spoke about the squad's fitness and the desire to test themselves against the best.

by Gennaro SanninoTuesday 8 September, 17:17 CET· 2 hours ago

Allegri con la maglia del Napoli — Foto: corrieredellosport.it

Napoli head coach Allegri confirmed on Tuesday 8 September that McTominay and Anguissa will both miss Wednesday 9 September's Champions League opener against Arsenal. "McTominay won't be involved, because this morning he immediately had this small procedure, and neither will Anguissa, who has an adductor problem," Allegri said.

Neres remains uncertain. "He's a question mark, we'll see on Wednesday morning. If he's fine and the knee doesn't bother him he'll be available, otherwise he'll be out too," Allegri said.

On midfield options, Allegri named four candidates for three places. "I have four midfielders: Gilmour, Lobotka, De Bruyne and Vergara. Three of the four will play," he said, adding that De Bruyne is very likely to be involved on Wednesday.

Allegri also reminded reporters of the format of the new Champions League group phase. "On Wednesday a competition different from the league begins - a mini-league of eight games. You need 12 points to guarantee going through," he said. On Arsenal head coach Arteta, he added: "I think Arteta has done an extraordinary job over the last four years."

Asked about the two Champions League finals he has lost as a coach, Allegri closed laughing: "I've had the fortune to take part in and play two finals, I lost both of them. Let's hope things go a little better for me between now and the end."

Di Lorenzo on fitness and ambition

Captain Di Lorenzo addressed the squad's physical condition at the same press conference.

In queste prime partite non possiamo essere al 100%, fa molto caldo, non è una scusante ma sicuramente in queste prime partite un po' ha inciso. Dobbiamo lavorare sulla fase di possesso, non possesso, e cercare di migliorare quelli che sono stati gli errori delle prime partite.

On the back-five system Napoli tried in the closing stages of their last match, Di Lorenzo said the team works on alternatives during the week because matches now split into several phases, so players need to be able to do more than one job. On his own role, he said he has mostly played as a wide centre-back in a back three rather than as a wing-back in recent seasons, but can do both if needed.

On Arsenal, the captain said: "We'll be facing a strong side, but we want to play our own cards. If we play our game too, it means Napoli is a strong side as well." He closed: "We'll have a full Maradona, an incredible Champions League atmosphere, and we're fired up to face them."