Arsenal handed double boost with 2 Atlético Madrid stars ruled out of huge UCL tie

Excitement is building ahead of Arsenal's Champions League semi-final. After topping the league phase table, the Gunners have ousted by Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting CP in the knockout stages so far. Thus, they have reached the competition's last four for only the fourth time, after 2006, 2009 and last season, and their hopes of being in Budapest may have received an early boost.

Their opponents, not as many expected, will be Atlético Madrid, after Diego Simeone's side ousted Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate following two thrilling ties. Los Colchoneros have been prioritising cup competitions this season, but that strategy hasn't paid off so far.

That's because, on Saturday night, Atleti were beaten on penalties by Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey Final following an end to end 2-2 draw at the Cartuja. However, this loss may have come at a cost for Simeone's side more than just missing out on the silverware.

That's because, as has been widely reported, both Alexander Sørloth and Ademola Lookman suffered minor injuries in Seville. They will thereby sit out los Rojiblancos' next two league games, against Elche on Wednesday and Athletic Club on Saturday night, and are also major doubts ahead of Arsenal's visit to Madrid in eight days time. So, why would this be such a boost for Mikel Arteta?

Starting with Lookman, since he joined Atleti from Atalanta for €35 million in January, he has been completely transformational. The South Londoner scored on his debut against Real Betis and has never looked back, bagging seven goals and four assists in total from only 18 appearances. This includes the aggregate winner to oust Barcelona from the Champions League last Tuesday.

Atlético Madrid 2025/26 with & without Ademola Lookman

It is no coincidence that Atlético's goals-per-game figure exponentially increases with Lookman in the team. This includes scoring five against Betis and Tottenham as well as four when Barcelona visited the Metropolitano in February. The Nigerian has simply made Simeone's side more attacking. Before, a more conservative player such as the now departed Conor Gallagher or perhaps Álex Baena would be utilised on the left-hand side.

Now however, los Rojiblancos deploy essentially a front four, featuring Giuliano Simeone on the right wing with Antoine Griezmann and Julián Álvarez through the middle. Now, that usual starting front four does not include the name of Alexander Sørloth, so why would be such a miss? The Norwegian has established himself as something of a super sub.

Since the start of last season, Sørloth has scored 41 goals across all competitions, doing so in just 4,802 minutes on the pitch, thereby averaging a goal ever 117 minutes. Last season, he ranked first across Europe's big five leagues for goals-per-90, with a staggering figure of 1.15, while also first for league goals off the bench with 12. This season, of his 17 goals, six have come in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against Club Brugge and last week's late clincher off the bench at Camp Nou.

Not having Sørloth, even if Álvarez and Griezmann are the starting centre-forward pairing, is a major blow for Simeone, especially considering Lookman's absence too. On the flip side, Martin Ødegaard returned for Arsenal at the weekend, while there is hope that Bukayo Saka could be back soon too, so is it advantage the Gunners ahead of this semi-final showdown?

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