Amazon Prime Video brings Mertens pitchside for Napoli-Arsenal
The Belgian, a fixture in the club's affections since Napoli's 2004 bankruptcy, will be at the Maradona before Wednesday's Champions League opener at the broadcaster's invitation.
Amazon Prime Video, which holds exclusive live rights to Wednesday 9 September's Napoli-Arsenal game (21:00 CET, Diego Armando Maradona stadium, the opening matchday of the Champions League's new League Phase), has arranged for Dries Mertens to be pitchside for the match.
The Belgian remains one of the most popular figures of the Napoli built up after the club's 2004 bankruptcy — not only as the club's record scorer, but for the bond he built with the city itself. That bond was never really broken: Mertens still rents his flat in Posillipo, overlooking the bay, at Palazzo Donn'Anna, one of the most recognisable spots on the Naples seafront.
His return comes at an uneasy moment for the club. Allegri's side arrive on the back of a 3-2 defeat at San Siro, having thrown away a 2-0 lead in the second half against Inter, the reigning Italian champions, and on Wednesday face the new coach's first real European test against an Arsenal side arriving at the Maradona as finalists in last season's Champions League and with three wins from three in the Premier League.
Against that tense backdrop, Mertens's pitchside appearance is a detail about the evening rather than the team. It changes nothing about the midfield problems caused by the absence of McTominay, nor the doubts over where De Bruyne fits in, but for one night it hands the Curva — the hardcore end behind the goal — a piece of its recent history back.
Source: AreaNapoli
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