Gasperini delighted with Arsenal draw: "A great performance against a great team"

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was delighted with his team's 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

The Italian side took the lead through Luis Muriel in the 16th minute, but Arsenal equalized through Bukayo Saka just before the hour mark.

Despite the fact that they were playing away from home, Atalanta had the better chances in the match and could have won it late on.

Gasperini was full of praise for his players after the match, saying: "I am very happy with the performance of my team. We played against a great team and we were able to match them."

"We had some good chances to win the game, but we couldn't take them. However, I am still happy with the result. It gives us a good chance in the second leg."

Atalanta will host Arsenal in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday, 5 May.

The Italian side will need to win by at least two goals to progress to the final. However, if they can repeat their performance from the first leg, they will be confident of causing an upset.