Gunners draw 0-0 at Emirates Stadium but win 1-0 on aggregate ahead of huge title duel with Man City
Football writer David Coverdale reviews Arsenal’s quarter-final victory in the UEFA Champions League against Sporting.
Arsenal kept their dream of winning a first Champions League alive after edging past Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals.
Holding a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg in Portugal, a goalless draw at Emirates Stadium was enough for the Gunners to reach back-to-back Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history.
The result ensures the Premier League remains represented in Europe’s top competition following Liverpool’s exit against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, with Arsenal setting up a semi-final with Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
But while Mikel Arteta will be relieved to come through the tie, the below-par performance in attack may cause him some concern ahead of Sunday’s title showdown with Manchester City, especially in the wake of their shock 2-1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth last weekend.
Another injury blow for Arteta
The Arsenal boss also has selection issues ahead of the trip to Etihad Stadium, with Noni Madueke his latest injury concern after the winger came off against Sporting with an injury.
Arteta was already sweating on the fitness of full-backs Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori, who missed Wednesday night’s second leg having also sat out the Bournemouth loss with respective injuries.
In their absence, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie came into Arsenal’s defence against Sporting, replacing Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly from the weekend.
Eberechi Eze was also brought in for first-leg goalscorer Kai Havertz, to make his first start in a month following a calf injury, while Declan Rice was passed fit to play despite missing training on Tuesday.
Asked how much Rice had pushed himself to be available, Arteta told TNT Sports: “That’s Declan and, to be fair, all the boys are desperate to play in these scenarios. He’s fit and available.”
Bukayo Saka, though, was not in the squad for the fourth consecutive match as he continues to nurse an Achilles injury, which Arteta hopes he will recover from in “days not weeks”.
Martin Odegaard also missed his second straight game with a knee issue he picked up in the first leg in Lisbon.
Writing in Wednesday night’s programme, the Arsenal captain said: “I had to go off during the second half of that game in Portugal last week, feeling my knee, which is why I missed the game at the weekend.
“I caught it a little bit against Sporting, but hopefully it shouldn’t be too bad.”
While not in the squad, Odegaard was one of five Arsenal players to feature on a giant tifo unveiled by fans before kick-off, which included the caption, “History in our sights”.
But fresh from their shock against Bournemouth, the Premier League leaders again looked jittery against Sporting, managing just one shot on target in the whole match.
Possession was no problem for the hosts, who completed 146 passes inside the opening 30 minutes, the second most they have managed in a home Champions League match this season.
Yet Arsenal’s players were lacking the “fire” Arteta had called for in his pre-match press conference, particularly their front three of Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres.
Coming into this match, the Gunners’ average Expected Goals (xG) when the trio play together was as low as 0.14 – and their efforts on Wednesday will have hardly improved that statistic.
In contrast, Sporting looked threatening when they had the ball and Geny Catamo hit the post just before half-time with a low volley from the right-hand side.
It was a huge let-off for Arsenal, who have conceded only three first-half goals in their last 12 Champions League games.
After the break, Madueke finally came alive and crashed into the side netting after a powerful run, only for his night to be prematurely ended when he went down holding his knee.
He was replaced by 16-year-old Max Dowman, while the quiet Gyokeres made way for first-leg match-winner Havertz.
Another substitute, Leandro Trossard, went closest for Arsenal with a header against the post from Dowman’s corner, while fellow replacement Gabriel Jesus hit the side netting.
Ultimately, the Gunners were able to sneak through to the semi-finals without scoring and they can look forward to facing Atletico in a fortnight’s time.
See: Dates for Arsenal’s semi-final ties against Atletico
But Arsenal will need to raise their game against Premier League title rivals Man City, who sit six points behind them with a game in hand.
See: Arsenal report
Champions League quarter-finals
7 Apr
Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich
Sporting 0-1 Arsenal
8 Apr
Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool
14 Apr
Liverpool 0-2 PSG (0-4 on aggregate)
Atletico 1-2 Barcelona (3-2 on aggregate)
15 Apr
Bayern Munich 4-3 Real Madrid (6-4 on aggregate)
Arsenal 0-0 Sporting (1-0 on aggregate)