Football. ua presents the announcement of the first semifinal match of the Europa League between Arsenal and Atletico.

The meeting of the semi-finals of the Europa League between Arsenal and Atletico would be worthy of the main match of the tournament. By and large, she could decorate herself and the final of the Champions League. However, this season, one of these two teams will not get to the decisive match.

Arsenal - Atletico. The day before Thursday, April 26, 10:05 pm. London, Emirates Stadium. Arbitrator - Clement Turpen (France). Live broadcast on the channel Football 1 Perhaps, with the 1/16 finals of the European League Arsenal and Atletico, who finished third in the group stage of the Champions League, were considered the main favorites of the tournament. And these teams only once made them question their superiority over rivals - in the quarter-final matches. Atletico, beating home Lisbon Sporting with a score of 2: 0, lost on the road - 0: 1. And Arsenal, defeating CSKA Moscow on Emirates with a score of 4: 1, away 0: 2, but was able to eventually draw - 2: 2.

Arsenal conducts its worst season in the Premier League since the season-1994/1995, but in the second most important European Cup tournament looks decent. Plus, an additional incentive for the "Gunners" not only to reach the final, but also to win the tournament, was the decision of Arsene Wenger after the season left the club in which he worked for 22 years. By the way, Atletico also wants to present the trophy of the Europa League as a gift to his legend during the parting - Fernando Torres, for whom this season in the "mattress" will be the last.

Unfortunately for fans of Arsenal, their team is approaching a very important match not in optimal condition. Against Atletico, Mkhitaryan will not play exactly, which did not have time to recover, Elneni and Kolasinats, plus doubts cause the conditions of Cech, Wilshire and Ozil.

Not everything is perfect, and Atletico. Diego Simeone will certainly not be able to count on Philippe Luis and Juanfran, but there is also good news for fans of the "Colchesteros" - Diego Costa, whose participation in the first semifinal match the coach of the team categorically denied, recovered ahead of schedule and included in the list of players flew to London.

Interesting facts - The teams have never met in European competition, but in the summer of 2009 during the friendly tournament Emirates Cup "Gunners" won - 2: 1.

- Arsenal is the most productive team of the current draw of the European League - 29 goals. More in the euro-season, "Gunners" scored only once, in the season-1999/2000, in which they played both in the Champions League, and in the UEFA Cup - 30.

- Atletico is the leader of the current season of the European League with an average performance of 15 goals in six games.

- Diego Simeone in the role of coach Atletico never lost in European competition in England - 3 matches, 1 victory, 2 draws.

- On the way to the semi-final Arsenal passed Ostersund (3: 0 and 1: 2), Milan (2: 0 and 3: 1) and CSKA Moscow (4: 1 and 2: 2).

- In the playoffs of the Europa League, Atletico beat Copenhagen (4: 1 and 1: 0), Lokomotiv M (3: 0 and 5: 1) and Sporting L (2: 0 and 0: 1).

- Arsenal 31 times met in European competition with representatives of Spain - 10 wins, 7 draws and 14 losses (at home, respectively, 8, 3 and 3).

- Atletico 27 ??times played in European competition with English teams - 10 wins, 11 draws and 6 losses (2, 6 and 4 respectively on the road).

- Arsenal played six times in the semifinals of European tournaments and only once did not qualify to the final. At the same time, the "Gunners" never lost to foreign teams, losing only Manchester United in Champions League 2008/2009.

- Atletico 14 times reached up to 1/2 finals of European competition - 8 successful attempts against 6.

Approximate compositions will not play: Elneni, Kolasinac, Mkhitaryan - Filipe Luis, Juanfran.

In doubt: Ozil, Cech, Wilshire - Diego Costa.

Words Arsene Wenger, Arsenal coach:.

"We have to meet a very strong team. A team that does not have obvious weaknesses, but who punishes the opponent for the slightest weakness. I can not say that, at all costs, I want to win the Europa League. I've always tried to win every match throughout my career. I want to win against Atletico, then Manchester United in the Premier League. And so it will always be ".

Diego Simeone, coach of Atletico:.

"Since I came to Madrid, the team has become much stronger. As we raised the bar, critics also became larger. I am satisfied with our current level.

I hope we can psychologically relaxed play in the stadium, where Arsenal is very strong. It will take courage to reach the final. When it comes to Hungary, the first thing that comes to mind is admiration. He had to reinvent himself. I consider myself a young coach, I want to watch him and learn from him. He took an amazing niche in football ".

2: 1 forecast Do you want to learn the main football news first? Subscribe to our channel in Telegram! You can also follow our website in Viber and Twitter.