Mikel Arteta reflected on a 1-0 win for **Arsenal**against **Sporting**in Lisbon.
The Gunners lost successive games for the first time this season after defeats to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and **Southampton**in the **FA Cup**quarterfinal. They then travelled to a team with a 100% winning record at home in the **Champions League**that were looking to make the most of their first continental encounter at this stage of a tournament. The stage was set for an upset.
Indeed, David Raya repelled Maxi Araujo in the 6th minute of the match as the left back’s effort was tipped onto the post, and he was a constant outlet for an outfit who could turn the field quickly. The only shot on target in the first half from the guests came from Martin Odegaard in the 43rd minute, and one could argue that **Arsenal**were guilty of putting in another unproductive performance.
However, defensive discipline is the foundation for Arsenal, and they picked their moment to strike. Noni Madueke made a lot of headway on the right flank while Declan Rice remained a firm platform to minimise the trouble that **Sporting**could cause. Eventually, the finishers emerged from the dugout, and a reconfigured attack made the difference for Arteta’s men in the dying moments of this match.
‘It was a big night’
Gabriel Martinelli moved infield to act as playmaker with great effect in injury time of the second half, hanging up the ball for **Kai Havertz**to take out of the sky and slot away into the back of the net.
**Arsenal**are closing in on successive semifinal **Champions League**appearances for the first time in their history, and this is a result that puts players back on track after back-to-back domestic defeats.
“It was a big night, a big moment in the season. Especially where we're coming from. I think we had a point to prove. [On Monday] I talked about identity and the things that I wanted to see on that pitch. It certainly happened. Certainly, there was a shift there.
“And then we played our opponent. It's very tricky, very difficult to play. That's the reason why they won 17 games in a row here. They haven't lost for a long, long time and really had to earn it. We had moments of real dominance with a lot of situations in and around the box without creating enough threat sometimes. Lacking to be a bit crispier, the movement a bit sharper, the final ball.
“We know especially how they start the first half here, the atmosphere that they create as a team, especially when they go ahead, extremely dangerous because they are so good in transition. The moment they turn you and they are running, those second actions, they are a team that creates big problems and when you are chasing the game it's even harder.
“So, we took the game where we wanted. But after saying that, we knew that it's a team extremely dangerous when they have space to run. They have two situations where David Raya had to intervene in a brilliant way. And then, again, the story of the season, the finish is coming when the most important part of the game is about to happen and then make the difference for us to go and win it.”
‘I cannot be prouder’
The Gunners have experienced the pain of falling at the final hurdle many times under Arteta. They are three-time Premier League runners-up with the Spaniard, bowed out of the **Champions League**semifinal last May to Paris Saint-Germain and were second best at Wembley Stadium last month.
Time will tell if this year is different for Arsenal. But they have taken the first step to relieving some pressure from the tense run-in that awaits them. This tie is in their hands ahead of the return leg at the Emirates Stadium, and it lays out a marker to move forwards from over the following two months.
“I think the best thing that you can do instead of talk a lot is observe. Look around you and see how people react. How they talk, how they look at you, how they judge you, what they do, do they look at themselves, do they start to criticise other people. Look around and you're going to learn the environment and the people that you have around you.
“I cannot be prouder to work in a club with people that the only thing they could do is ask, what else can I do to help? And when you have people like this, I don't know if it's going to take another week or two, but something good will happen at the end because we deserve it.
“The demand from August is win and win and win and win and if you don't win, it's a disaster and it's not enough. You don't win four trophies and… what are we doing? So that's fine, but they need some perspective especially from my side, a big reminder of what we are as a team and the things that have brought us where we are. Take it, live the present, do your best and let's see what happens.
“[It is a template] in a lot of things: especially in the things that depend on us and it's nothing to do with quality or execution. Those are things that have brought us here. The rest we have it, it will be moments, it is better or not that efficient but those ones if we maintain them, we have a great chance.
“The demand from August is win and win and win and win and if you don't win, it's a disaster and it's not enough. You don't win four trophies and… what are we doing? So that's fine, but they need some perspective especially from my side, a big reminder of what we are as a team and the things that have brought us where we are. Take it, live the present, do your best and let's see what happens.”