{"id":903148,"date":"2026-05-03T04:23:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T09:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/ex-atalanta-midfielder-makes-bold-lookman-prediction-ahead-of-ucl-clash-against-arsenal\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T04:23:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T09:23:21","slug":"ex-atalanta-midfielder-makes-bold-lookman-prediction-ahead-of-ucl-clash-against-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/ex-atalanta-midfielder-makes-bold-lookman-prediction-ahead-of-ucl-clash-against-arsenal\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Atalanta midfielder makes bold Lookman prediction ahead of UCL clash against Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><img width=\"750\" height=\"498\" alt=\"Soccer Ex-Atalanta midfielder makes bold Lookman prediction ahead of UCL clash against Arsenal\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/LSp-jVgbiPBqVhMc_nDOXVaEGwM=\/750x498\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F04%2Fimago1076101139.jpg\" srcset data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\"><\/p>\n<p>Ademola Lookman of Atletico Madrid celebrates. Copyright: Imago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Super Eagles and Atletico Madrid forward <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/tag\/ademola-lookman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ademola Lookman<\/a> didn&#8217;t have the best outing against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday, Soccernet.ng reports. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 1-1 draw against Mikel Arteta&#8217;s men at the Wanda Metropolitano was the first time the 28-year-old completed a game for Diego Simeone&#8217;s side since joining from Atalanta in February.<\/p>\n<p>The game was one of near misses for <em>Los Colchoneros<\/em>, who struck the crossbar twice. Lookman did come close twice as well, but slipped at just the crucial moment. However, he&#8217;s been tipped to turn up in the away leg by his former teammate Michel Adopo.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4000\" height=\"2667\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/NMOzJz_wb5HrJadK9AeSwa9w5N4=\/4000x2667\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F04%2Fimago1076776585.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Bukayo Saka of Arsenal FC battles for the ball with Ademola Lookman of Atletico de Madrid\"><figcaption>Bukayo Saka of Arsenal FC battles for the ball with Ademola Lookman of Atletico de Madrid. Copyright: ImagoxLexPictorium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Get Our Sports News First \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VagMHLcA89MZvw0Btc21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Soccer Michel Adopo backs Ademola Lookman to score against Arsenal<\/h2>\n<p>The home leg for the Gunners will be played on Tuesday night. Arsenal hold a slender advantage, given they&#8217;re playing in front of their crowd in North London.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Adopo, who was teammates with Lookman in the season where they won the UEFA Europa League, has weighed in on what sharing a dressing room with the man who won Atalanta&#8217;s maiden trophy feels like.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAfter the triumph, I remember that Ademola himself didn\u2019t understand the importance of his performance,\u201d the 25-year-old said an interview with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/sport\/38957902\/ademola-lookman-cage-football-arsenal-heartbreak-champions-league\/?utm_source=sharebar_app&#038;utm_medium=sharebar_app&#038;utm_campaign=sharebar_app_article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sun<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3786\" height=\"2840\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/G8f8XU6F-nuB6JXXG3KShbPXuu0=\/3786x2840\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F05%2Fimago1076230082.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Michel Adopo participates in the match between Inter and Cagliari\"><figcaption>Michel Adopo participates in the match between Inter and Cagliari. Copyright: ImagoxLorisxRosellix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ahead of the return leg in London, the French midfielder believes his ex-teammate will find the back of the net.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAtletico is an amazing opportunity for Ademola. Finally, he is at a giant club.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually believe he will score against Arsenal in Madrid,\u201d Michel Adopo concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5902\" height=\"3935\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/hyj7ZgwEp2amjG8Y631Hgprdly4=\/5902x3935\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F05%2Fimago1045842702.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Ademola Olajade Lookman, Giorgio Scalvini and Michel Adopo\"><figcaption>Ademola Olajade Lookman, Giorgio Scalvini and Michel Adopo. Copyright: Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Atletico Madrid and Arsenal head into the clash at the Emirates Stadium on the back of domestic victories in their respective leagues.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img alt=\"<!-- Author Start -->Adefolahan Guerreiro<!-- Author End -->&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f64d35abfd960f4a5a400c4bb517f7f0be6c48b655560fbdd37e59d9fc9ca58?s=80&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g&#8221;  height=&#8221;80&#8243; width=&#8221;80&#8243; loading=&#8221;lazy&#8221; decoding=&#8221;async&#8221;>\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/author\/guerreiro\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tAdefolahan Guerreiro\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tAdefolahan is a multilingual sports journalist and football writer whose work spans outlets like Soccernet Nigeria, Pure Football UK, and Royalsportz. <\/p>\n<p>With a sharp eye for detail and a background in college sports, he tells the African football story with depth, flair, and global perspective.<\/p>\n<p>Fluent in English, Spanish, and German, he brings a cross-cultural voice to his coverage, blending insight with accessibility for readers around the world.<br \/>\nHis portfolio includes interviews with top Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, Sikiru Alimi, Sodiq Ismaila, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.<\/p>\n<p>A devoted Borussia Dortmund fan, Adefolahan thrives on the emotion and rhythm of the beautiful game. Away from work, he\u2019s a sci-fi enthusiast and series lover who enjoys exploring how sport, storytelling, and culture collide.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2026\/05\/atalanta-midfielder-lookman-ucl-arsenal.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Adefolahan Guerreiro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Ademola Lookman of Atletico Madrid celebrates. Copyright: Imago Super Eagles and Atletico Madrid forward Ademola Lookman didn&#8217;t have the best outing against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday, Soccernet.ng reports. The 1-1 draw against Mikel Arteta&#8217;s men at the Wanda Metropolitano was the first time the 28-year-old completed a game for Diego [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":903149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149243,89327,2005],"tags":[149242,50295],"class_list":{"0":"post-903148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ex-atalanta","8":"category-midfielder","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-ex-atalanta","11":"tag-midfielder"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}