Arsenal are back in Champions League action on Wednesday evening.
After beating Sporting in the quarter-finals, Arsenal will now take on Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the semis.
Prediction time: What will the score be when Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid in the first-leg?
Arsenal are were knocked out at this stage of the competition by Paris Saint-Germain last year, so they’ll be desperate to go one further and into the final this time.
Ahead of the clash in Madrid tomorrow, we’ve revisited some fascinating comments that Diego Simeone made about Mikel Arteta’s side last year.
Diego Simeone was blown away by Arsenal last year
Speaking after Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Atletico Madrid in the early phase of the Champions League this season, Simeone heaped praise on the Gunners.
The Atletico boss was blown away by how much ground they covered.
“I’d say Arsenal are the best team Atletico Madrid have faced this season,” the Argentinian stated.
“They run and they run, there’s quality all over the pitch – they deserved to win and I want to congratulate them.”
Simple question: Would you rather be in Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta’s shoes right now?
Viktor Gyokeres actually scored a brace in that game, so perhaps he’s well-suited to play against the type of team Atletico are.
Atleti have certainly strengthened since then, though, with Ademola Lookman proving to be a revelation since joining from Atalanta in January.
Lookman, who has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium previously, has registered four goal involvements in his six Champions League appearances with Atleti.
“Since I’ve been in the club, we never had players like that with those features,” Simeone said about Lookman earlier this month.
“He’s brilliant offensively. He’s very courageous. He’s very good on the one-on-one.”
Clearly, the former Everton and Leicester City wide player is the dangerman for Arsenal to beware of tomorrow.
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