Arsenal are in Lisbon gearing up for their Champions League quarter-final first-leg against Sporting CP
09:35, 07 Apr 2026
Noni Madueke
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Noni Madueke is with the Arsenal squad in Portugal despite recent wrist and knee issues
Arsenal flew to Lisbon from Luton Airport on Monday afternoon ahead of their Champions League quarter-final showdown against Sporting CP at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Mikel Arteta is battling several injury problems ahead of the contest and speaking during his press conference, he confirmed that both Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber have not travelled to Portugal.
Additionally, Arsenal's website notes that Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapie and Mikel Merino also remain sidelined.
There had been speculation on Monday that Eze was set to return to training but he was not pictured during the club's open session at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Monday lunchtime.
Eze picked up a calf issue in the 2-0 Champions League last 16 victory over Bayer Leverkusen last month, a match in which he scored, and missed both the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City and England's two international friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
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Twenty Arsenal players were snapped at Luton Airport ahead of the club's departure for Portugal, providing a clear indication of what Arteta's squad could look like for the meeting.
David Raya, who spoke to the media in Lisbon on Monday evening, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Khari Ranson make up the goalkeeping department.
Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Marli Salmon, Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly were also spotted.
Christian Norgaard, Martin Zubimendi, the returning Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and young starlet Max Dowman were also present.
As were Noni Madueke, Leandro Trossard, teenager Andre Harriman-Annous, Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres, who is preparing to face his former employers.
Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman
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Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman have both travelled with Arsenal to Portugal
Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz were not pictured at the airport, though both trained on Monday and therefore should have travelled with the group.
Speaking at his press conference, Arteta confirmed Rice, Gabriel and Trossard would all be available.
He also added on the absences of Saka and Timber: "No [they won't be available], they're having trouble, they're not ready yet. Let's see, hopefully they're going to be ready for the weekend, if everything goes well, and that's a massive boost because in recent days we've lost so many important players and that's something that we need to change immediately."
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The games are coming thick and fast for Arsenal, who are back in Premier League action this weekend when they host Bournemouth in the early kick-off on Saturday.
Beyond that, the Gunners host Sporting in the second leg next week before travelling to the Etihad Stadium to take on title rivals Manchester City.