Marín wins over Allegri, Di Lorenzo and Politano in Italy's pre-list

Amid three straight defeats, Allegri has found one defensive certainty: Rafa Marín. The centre-back, signed in the summer, started in the back line that faced Arsenal — last season's Champions League finalists and the reigning Premier League champions — at the Maradona on Wednesday, showing the composure to handle an opponent of that calibre. That is no small thing for a defender only weeks into life at Napoli: it means Allegri trusts him with the pressure of Serie A, a league that punishes a single mistake immediately.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo remains the other fixed point. The captain, who signed a new contract until 2030, will start again against Bologna on Sunday 13 September at the Maradona, and Italy's head coach has included him on the pre-selection list for the Nations League alongside vice-captain Matteo Politano. For Allegri, as for Conte and Spalletti before him, Di Lorenzo is beyond debate — experience and consistency that matter more than anything else in this difficult start to the season.

The numbers aren't all good news

Trust in Marín does not erase a problem affecting the whole team. Over the last three games — Como, Inter and Arsenal — Napoli have conceded 76 shots in total, an average of 25 per game, and Meret's goal has stayed untouched only in Genoa. Against the Gunners specifically, Opta's data put the expected goals conceded at 4.05 — the highest figure ever recorded by Napoli since the statistic began being tracked, even higher than the 3.86 conceded away at Inter.

This is where Marín's individual growth needs honest context: one convincing centre-back is not enough to cover a defence that, as a whole, is conceding too much. With Buongiorno and Marianucci still injured and Beukema only just back from a tendon problem that kept him out of pre-season training, the ready alternatives at the back remain few — raising the question of whether Allegri is building a genuine fixed point or simply plugging a hole with the only man left standing.

The league does not wait: Bologna visit the Maradona on Sunday 13 September at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET), and Napoli have yet to win at home this season.