Ademola Lookman Makes Atletico Madrid’s 23-Man Squad for Arsenal

Ademola Lookman is in Atletico Madrid’s 23-man squad for tonight’s Champions League match against Arsenal, giving Diego Simeone another attacking option after a week of fitness problems. Atletico also included David Hancko, while three players were left out for the first leg of the tie.

Atletico Madrid’s 23-man roster

The club posted the squad on its social media channels and website, and the attacking group also features Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth. Lookman’s place means Atletico can go at Arsenal with a fuller front line than the injury list had suggested earlier in the week.

Nico Gonzalez missed out with a muscle injury picked up in Tuesday morning’s training session. Jose Maria Gimenez was also unavailable, and Pablo Barrios was ruled out after a fresh problem on Saturday when Atletico returned to winning ways at home to Athletic Club in La Liga.

Diego Simeone on Arsenal

Simeone set the tone before the match by saying Atletico wanted to take it to “a place where we think we can hurt Arsenal.” He also described the Champions League as “an enormous competition” and said Atletico have “never been able to win it yet,” despite reaching four semi-finals over the 14 years he has been in charge.

That backdrop leaves Atletico with a clear test tonight and another one waiting at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening for the second leg. Lookman’s inclusion gives Simeone a broader attacking pool for the first leg, but Atletico still arrive with three names absent from the squad and the margin for error already tight.