Gian Piero Gasperini, the Atalanta manager, has applauded Ademola Lookman for his solid defensive performance against Arsenal.
La Dea were held to a 0-0 draw by the Gunners at the Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo on Thursday night.
Mateo Retegui missed a penalty for the Serie A club in the keenly contested encounter.
Lookman put up a good display before he was substituted late in the game.
The Nigeria international also displayed the other side of his game against Mikel Arteta’s by helping in the defence.
Gasperini praised the winger and the other forwards for their defending.
“Well yes, that is our spirit. That doesn’t mean we are not defending, as the defensive work done by Lookman, De Ketelaere and Retegui was admirable. If we have our strikers working so hard to help the defence, then we can put a few more forwards on the field and improve our chances of scoring,” Gasperini said after the game.
“It was not easy to break down the Arsenal defence and we need to improve our play out from the back, but I am satisfied. We learned something from this match and want to carry that forward. This is why we’ve managed to grow so much in recent years and been able to play at this level.”
