We take a one-goal lead into our Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP on Wednesday (8pm UK), as we seek successive semi-final appearances in the competition for the first time.
Kai Havertz’s last-gasp goal in the Portuguese capital last week saw us stretch our unbeaten run against the reigning Primeira Liga champions to eight games, making us the team Sporting have faced most often in Europe without ever winning against.
That fact will need to change if the visitors want to reach the last four of the European Cup for the first time, but they haven’t won any of their last 10 visits to England, while we have yet to taste defeat in 11 Champions League games this term - - a run we hope to extend to ensure we're the ones facing Atletico Madrid in the semis.
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SPORTING STILL SEEKING SILVERWARE
After suffering at the hands of Havertz at home, Sporting turned their attentions to defending their league title on the weekend, and managed to eke out a 1-0 win against Estrela da Amadora thanks to Daniel Braganca’s goal, but they remain five points behind leaders Porto, albeit with a game in hand.
That victory came on their travels, but when it comes to away days in continental competitions, the Lions have only won one of their last eight in the Champions League, against Athletic Bilbao back in January. Meanwhile, they’ve not won in 10 away knockout games in the European Cup/Champions League, stretching back to 1970.
The next three games will define Sporting’s season - after their trip to N5 with a semi-final spot up for grabs, they host another of their nation’s Big Three sides in Benfica on Sunday in league action, before travelling to Porto for the second leg of their Portuguese Cup semi-final, where they enjoy a 1-0 lead.
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WHAT THE MANAGER SAY
Arteta: “It's the second time that we are three years in a row in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. For other clubs, that's the daily meal. For us, no. So we value a lot where we are.
“We have the opportunity tomorrow to go to the semi-finals. We are competing to win the Premier League and we are in a really strong position after 22 years without doing it. So we know the difficulty of that, but the beauty of it is that it's difficult, that it's challenging and that's why we are so willing to do it.”
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Borges: "It's natural that it's a decisive week, as we are getting closer and closer to the end of the season. The games become more decisive, but I only care about looking at the next one. And the next one is against Arsenal."
"Obviously we have hope. We know they are a great team when playing at home, but we like big challenges. I truly believe that we will have a good response in London."
TEAM NEWS
Declan Rice missed training on Tuesday and Arteta will continue to monitor him in the build-up, as well as Jurrien Timber (groin) and Bukayo Saka (Achilles) who have been out for a few weeks and also didn't feature in the final session.
Riccardo Calafiori also missed the first leg as he attempts to recover from a knock, while Martin Odegaard’s knee issue flared up again, causing him to miss Saturday’s game against Bournemouth. Martin Zubimend and Christian Norgaard are a booking away from being issued with a one-match suspension.
Read more Training gallery: All set for Sporting
Sporting can call upon the services of captain Morten Hjulmand after he missed the first leg through suspension, while Chelsea-bound winger Geovany Quenda made his return from four months out with a foot injury on the weekend.
However full-back Ivan Fresneda came off at half-time on Sunday with a knock, while midfielder Joao Simoes missed the game having started against us last week. Greek striker Fotis Ioannidis, former West Ham United winger Luis Guilherme and left-back Nuno Santos are all out.
TALKING TACTICS
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: Borges uses a standard 4-2-3-1 with left-sided forward Pedro Goncalves [above] drifting infield to leave space for buccaneering left back Maxi Araujo to bomb forward. On the other side, Geny Catamo is an out-and-out winger who works nicely in tandem with supporting full-back Fresneda.
Sporting’s approach is an attacking style of play that often sees them commit six or more players to moves built inside the opposition half. While they are good enough to play through the lines, they are most effective when going from back to front directly, and centre-backs Goncalo Inacio and the excellent Ousmane Diomande can pick out forwards with deep passes.
Viktor Gyokeres’ replacement Luis Suarez has netted 37 times for club and country this season, with five of those strikes coming in the Champions League. Sharp around the box, with good movement and a natural nose for where chances will fall, the 28-year-old works well with attacking midfielder Francisco Trincao, who loves to shoot from outside the box.
They will pose a threat on the counter as only Real Madrid and Liverpool have manufactured more attempts on goal from fast breaks than Sporting, but in the first leg, when we closed them down with intensity inside their half, Borges’ team looked uncomfortable, losing possession in bad areas. It is vital that we hunt in packs and replicate that tactic.
FACTS AND STATS
When winning away from home in the first leg of a two-legged knockout stage tie in European competition, we have progressed on 19 out of 20 occasions – our only elimination came against Olympiacos in the 2019/20 Europa League.
Sporting have drawn each of their last four major European away games against English opponents, since a 3-1 Champions League defeat at Chelsea in December 2014.
We have won 10 of our 11 Champions League games this season. Of teams with 10+ matches played in a European Cup/Champions League campaign, only Bayern Munich in 2019/20, who won all 11 matches, have ever had a higher win percentage.
Our only defeat across our last 23 European home games came against Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s semi-finals. We have kept a clean sheet in 16 of our last 22 European matches at Emirates Stadium, conceding just nine goals overall.
We have won our last five Champions League home games, only enjoying a longer winning run on home soil once previously in the competition (7 between March 2001 and February 2002).
David Raya has seven clean sheets in 2025/26, only one goalkeeper has ever kept more for an English team in a single Champions League campaign (Edouard Mendy – 9 for Chelsea in 2020/21).
Luis Suarez (5 goals, 2 assists) and Trincao (4 goals, 3 assists) have both been directly involved in seven goals in the Champions League this season; the joint-most for a Sporting player in a single edition, along with Viktor Gyokeres in 2024/25.
Gabriel Martinelli has been directly involved in a goal every 63 minutes in the Champions League this season (6 goals, 2 assists in 507 minutes); the best ratio by any Arsenal player with 500+ minutes played in a single edition.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Frenchman Francois Letexier returns to Emirates Stadium having overseen our 2-0 win against Olympiacos back in October, having also refereed our victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last season. In seven Champions League games this season, he has issued just 18 yellow cards, no reds and awarded three penalties.
He has been overseeing top-flight matches in his homeland since 2016 before being added to the FIFA list a year later. He has presided over plenty of big matches, including the final of Euro 2024 when Spain beat England.
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)Assistants: Cyril Mugnier, Mehdi Rahmouni (FRA)Fourth official: Stephanie Frappart (FRA)VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)Assistant VAR: Bram Van Driessche (BEL)
PREVIOUS VISITS FROM SPORTING
This is the fourth time Sporting will have played us in north London in European competition. Our first encounter on these shores came back in 1969/70 when a John Radford goal and a George Graham brace saw us progress during our successful Fairs Cup run.
Then in 2018, a 0-0 draw at Emirates Stadium booked our place in the knockout stages of the Europa League. Five years later we met again in the same competition, and after a 2-2 draw in Lisbon, goals from Granit Xhaka and Goncalves led to a 1-1 draw in north London, as Sporting triumphed on penalties to progress to the quarter-finals.
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LIVE COVERAGE
Get hyped for another big European night with Live From N5, streaming live on Arsenal.com and The Arsenal app from 75 minutes before kick-off.
Nicole Holliday and Jeremie Aliadiere will be joined by Gunners legend Lee Dixon in the studio, as well as musician Lethal Bizzle and streaming stars Marlon and Lacy to chat about the game and all-things Arsenal.
We'll induct our latest selection into the Live from N5 Hall of Fame, while another round of Arsenal Mastermind tests our studio audience's knowledge before live commentary comes from Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live, wherever you are in the world.
Read more How to watch Arsenal v Sporting CP live on TV
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