Newcastle United striker Ayoze Perez has warned Arsenal about Atletico Madrid’s penchant for making the game uncomfortable for opposing teams.
Perez and his Newcastle side scored a key win over Arsenal last weekend, which more or less guaranteed that the Magpies will be playing Premier League football next season.
Arsenal will be playing West Ham at the weekend but their focus is expected to be on the crucial first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid next Thursday at the Emirates.
Perez believes the game in north London will be key for the Gunners but for the moment the striker feels Atletico Madrid have the edge ahead of the tie.
While the Newcastle man feels Arsenal have enough quality, he believes Atletico Madrid have the tools to make it an uncomfortable game for Arsene Wenger’s men.
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And he admits that Diego Simeone has the players in attack and defence to hurt the north Londoners.
Perez told Spanish daily AS when asked about the Europa League clash between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid: “I believe it will be tight. If have to make a prediction I would say it is 60-40 in favour of Atletico.
“But Arsenal are a good team. They have their good and bad moments but they are a team of great quality.
“The game at the Emirates will be important, but it’s true the way Atletico play they will make it very uncomfortable for Arsenal.
“They have lot of quality up front and Simeone has built a very strong team in defence.”
With the Premier League's top four seemingly beyond their reach, winning the Europa League is Arsenal’s only possible outlet to next season’s Champions League.
