Lookman fit , ready as Atlético chase UCL final place at Emirates
Ademola Lookman has been passed fit and has travelled with the Atlético Madrid squad to London for tonight’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal, as the Nigerian forward targets
Ademola Lookman has been passed fit and has travelled with the Atlético Madrid squad to London for tonight's Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal, as the Nigerian forward targets the biggest night of his club career.
The 28-year-old — who missed Atlético's last two matches before the first leg with a muscle issue — is named in Diego Simeone's travelling party, with only Pablo Barrios, José María Giménez and Nicolás González absent through injury. The tie is finely poised at 1-1 after a gripping first leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano last week.
Lookman's importance to Atlético's campaign cannot be overstated. Since arriving from Atalanta in February for £30.3 million, the Super Eagles winger has scored seven goals, including the decisive strike in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona that sent Atlético through 3-2 on aggregate. He was a constant threat in the first leg against Arsenal too, drawing a fine save from David Raya and linking well with Julián Álvarez, before a muscle injury denied him the chance to settle the tie in Madrid.
Now, fully fit and back in Simeone's plans, Lookman arrives at the Emirates with history on his side. Atlético have won all three of their previous European semi-finals against English opposition — beating Liverpool on away goals in 2010, Chelsea 3-1 on aggregate in 2014, and crucially, Arsenal themselves 2-1 on aggregate in the 2017/18 Europa League. On that occasion, it was Antoine Griezmann who scored the decisive goal in London — a man who lines up alongside Lookman in attack tonight.
Simeone's likely XI — Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Le Normand, Ruggeri; G. Simeone, Koke, Cardoso, Lookman; Álvarez, Griezmann — places Lookman in a wide attacking role with licence to invert, where his ability to draw defenders in tight spaces and create openings for Álvarez has been central to Atlético's best moments this season.
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The Argentine has scored 25 Champions League goals in just 41 appearances — faster than any player in the competition's history, surpassing even Lionel Messi — and Lookman's movement is key to freeing him up.
Atlético arrive in good form, having beaten Valencia 2-0 at Mestalla at the weekend, while Arsenal posted a 3-0 win over Fulham. The statistical picture, however, gives Arsenal reason for encouragement on home soil — Atlético have won just two of their last 13 UEFA matches against English clubs, losing their last four away ties against Premier League opposition.
But for Nigerian football fans, the story is simpler: one of their own stands 90 minutes from a Champions League final. Lookman, who has already scored a hat-trick in a Europa League final, fired Nigeria to the AFCON round of 16 earlier this year , and scored goals against both Real Madrid and Barcelona since joining Atlético, is primed to write another chapter.
