Ademola Lookman did enough across two legs to suggest he belonged on this stage, but not enough minutes in the second to make the difference Atletico Madrid desperately needed, Footynaija.com reports.
Arsenal are heading to Budapest, and the Super Eagles forward is left to reflect on what might have been. Saka’s tap-in just before half-time at the Emirates was all that separated the sides on a tense Tuesday night in north London.
Swedish striker Victor Gyokeres collected down the right, clipped a cross towards Leandro Trossard, and when Oblak palmed the Belgian’s fierce drive away, the Arsenal’s captain reacted to sweep home from close range.
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It was 1-0 on the night, 2-1 on aggregate, and Arsenal never looked like letting it slip.
Atletico had come knowing they needed a goal. Simeone set up in a manner that prioritised caution in the opening period, and his side barely threatened David Raya in the first half, and Gyokeres should really have put the tie beyond doubt when Hincapie’s low cross from the left found him completely unmarked, only to scuff his attempt over the bar.
Lookman replaced
Lookman had started, as he did in the first leg at the Metropolitano a week earlier.
In Madrid, he had been one of Atletico’s livelier presences, testing Raya on two occasions including a well-struck effort in the 74th minute that the Arsenal keeper pushed away.
He carried that threat into the opening exchanges of the return leg. But when Simeone reached for his triple substitution in the 57th minute, Lookman was one of the first men off, replaced by Cardoso as the Atletico coach chased the goal the tie demanded.
It was a familiar story for Lookman under Simeone. Regardless of how the 28-year-old performs, the Atletico coach has made a habit of hooking him around the hour mark, a pattern that has drawn frustration in some quarters. Atletico has paid the price on many occasions, but Simeone keeps doing it.
The Spanish team never found their footing after the change. Griezmann, Sorloth and Almada came on in search of a breakthrough that never materialised. Gabriel and Rice held on, and the Emirates celebrated what is only Arsenal’s second Champions League final appearance, twenty years on from their first.
