Former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has warned Arsenal they will face a ‘special’ atmosphere in Napoli on Wednesday night.
The Champions League got underway for the season this week and an eye-catching tie on Wednesday sees the Premier League champions travel to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Having reached the final of the competition last year and started their league season with three straight victories, it is no surprise that Arsenal are fancied to do well in Italy.
Napoli have not had such a good start to their campaign, losing two of their first three Serie A games.
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Hojlund recognises what a challenge Arsenal will bring with them, but feels his side has a very useful weapon in its…arsenal.
In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the Dane said: ‘They won the Premier League, and played in the Champions League final after winning their group.
‘They have a strong and very deep squad, with many qualities, but the first Champions League match at the Maradona is always special.
‘I remember last year, we started well with my first brace for Napoli. We need to play really well, be ready.’
Hojlund did indeed score twice in a 2-1 win over Sporting in Napoli’s first home game of the Champions League last season.
He has also started this campaign in good form, scoring in each of the last two Serie A games, although his team lost both.
On the feeling of scoring at the iconic Maradona stadium, he said: ‘It’s beautiful. The stadium is special, the fans are fantastic and make themselves heard. I’d like the stands to be closer, but the passion is still strongly felt from the pitch, and it’s fantastic.’
The 23-year-old also addressed his two-year spell at Manchester United, which went reasonably well for one season, scoring 16 goals, but tailed off badly in the second and led to his departure.
‘I don’t think anything specific went wrong,’ he said. ‘I arrived at a club with a manager [Erik ten Hag]: it was a difficult year, with many injuries, but we won the FA Cup and I was the top scorer.
‘Then we went through a difficult period and [Ruben] Amorim arrived, an excellent coach but with a different playing style. The team had to adapt, and it was complicated. We all struggled.
‘My first year was a success, the second wasn’t. But I played in the Europa League final; if we had won, it would have been a different story. That’s football: sometimes it goes well, other times it goes badly, but I’m very happy to have played for the club I dreamed of as a child.’