Fit-again Lookman raring to face 'special' Arsenal in UCL semi-final
Ademola Lookman has declared himself fit and ready to face Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano tomorrow, ending speculation over his availability
Ademola Lookman has declared himself fit and ready to face Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano tomorrow, ending speculation over his availability after missing Atlético Madrid's last two La Liga matches with an abductor complaint.
"I missed the last few matches, but now I feel much better," the Nigerian forward said at the pre-match media briefing, having returned to full team training earlier on Monday.
Lookman, who grew up in south-east London, also acknowledged the personal significance of Wednesday's tie against his hometown club.
"The first time I played against Arsenal was when I was a kid, with Charlton. Wednesday will be a special game," he said.
The 27-year-old has scored seven goals and provided four assists since joining Atlético from Italian club Atalanta in January, quickly establishing himself as one of the key figures in Diego Simeone's attack.
His return comes as a significant boost to Atlético, who are also monitoring the fitness of striker Julián Álvarez. The Argentine, Atlético's leading Champions League scorer this season with nine goals, sat out Saturday's La Liga victory over Athletic Club with a discomfort complaint. Atlético are cautiously confident he will be available to start, though that will depend on how his condition responds in the remaining hours before kick-off.
Midfielder Pablo Barrios has already been ruled out after sustaining a hamstring injury during the Athletic Club match, while Alexander Sørloth has also been carrying discomfort since the Copa del Rey final — making this one of the most disrupted build-ups to a major European tie in recent memory for Los Colchoneros.
"We're heading into the semi-finals with all our enthusiasm and all our faith,” the Argentine coach said.“ We know our strengths and our weaknesses.”
“ We have great confidence in what we do and we're going to go after what we've been chasing for many years," he added.
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Forward Antoine Griezmann echoed that resolve. "It doesn't matter who we face as long as we're still in it. It was a struggle against Barcelona, but we're still in it," he said.
Arsenal arrive in Madrid full of confidence after becoming the first side in the club's 140-year history to reach back-to-back Champions League semi-finals. Manager Mikel Arteta called the achievement very special, adding that his side had earned their place among the last four.
Gabriel Martinelli offered a note of caution despite Arsenal's strong recent record against Atlético. "We believe in ourselves and we know the quality we have. We won against them in the league phase, but it's going to be a completely different game," the Brazilian forward said.
