Danny Murphy is confident Arsenal will advance past both Sporting and Atletico Madrid (Picture: talkSPORT)
Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy has confidently backed Arsenal to go on and secure their place in the Champions League final should they get past Sporting this evening.
Arsenal take a one-goal lead into tonight’s quarter-final second leg thanks to Kai Havertz’s dramatic breakthrough in the closing stages of the sides’ previous encounter in Lisbon.
It provided a welcome morale boost for a squad badly struggling for confidence after back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and Southampton in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup respectively.
However, a shock 2-1 defeat away to Bournemouth in the Premier League at the weekend will only have added to the sense of nervousness amongst Arsenal’s fanbase heading into a crucial run of fixtures.
On the eve of their second leg with Sporting, Arsenal discovered their potential semi-final opponents as Atletico Madrid beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate to secure their place in the final four.
A pair of early goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres had given Barca hope of progression, but Ademola Lookman’s strike on the half-hour mark proved decisive and sent Hansi Flick’s men crashing out of the competition.
Should they preserve their advantage over Sporting, Arsenal will do battle with Atleti over two legs (April 29 and May 5) for place in this year’s final at Budapest’s Puskas Arena on May 30.
Sporting Clube de Portugal v Arsenal FC - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg
Havertz scored a late goal after coming off the bench in the first leg (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal FC Training Session And Press Conference - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Second Leg
Arteta’s men will lock horns with Atleti should they get past Sporting (Picture: Getty)
Asked whether Atleti pose a better or worse prospect for Arsenal than Barcelona, former Liverpool and Tottenham star Murphy said on talkSPORT: ‘Better. Barcelona, at their best, can absolutely crucify anybody with the talent they’ve got.
‘Atletico Madrid have got some experience and some good players but Arsenal wiped the floor with them earlier in the season when they were playing well.
You can’t help it as a player, when you’re in European competitions, I remember we [Liverpool] made the mistake and we all celebrated when we drew Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals and this was a Leverkusen side with Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Ballack, who then went on to be great players.
Atletico de Madrid v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Second Leg
Atleti defeated Barca to secure their place in this year’s semi-finals (Picture: Getty)
‘But we were like, “We’ll get through that, no problem”, and we ended up going out so you have to be careful not to get too complacent – and I’m sure Arsenal won’t.’
Murphy, who won the UEFA Cup with Liverpool in 2001, added: ‘I think it’s a much better scenario for Arsenal to be playing Atletico Madrid rather than Barcelona.
‘Irrespective of Arsenal being a bit nervy at the minute, I see them in the final already.’
Who would win a potential Arsenal vs Atleti semi-final?
Arsenal
Atletico Madrid
Arsenal v Everton - Premier League
Timber has been sidelined since Arsenal’s defeat of Everton a month ago (Picture: Getty)
While Murphy is confident Arsenal will come through their second leg withSporting unscathed, the potential absence of Jurrien Timber remains a slight concern for the ex-England international.
‘Timber has been missing and there is a chance he comes back and he’s a super full-back, offensively and defensively,’ Murphy explained.
‘If he isn’t fit, Ben White has probably struggled a little bit more than we’ve seen in the past.’
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Liverpool FC v Paris Saint-Germain FC - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Second Leg
Liverpool crashed out at the hands of the holders PSG on Tuesday night (Picture: Getty)
Turning his attentions to a team closer to his heart, Liverpool, Murphy felt the best team ultimately won after Paris Saint-Germain beat Arne Slot’s men 4-0 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals.
According to Murphy, Rio Ngumoha was unfortunate not to have been given the nod from the start after his eye-catching display in the Reds’ win over Fulham at the weekend.
‘The reality is that over the two games the best team won. And they [PSG] are a very classy outfit by the way,’ he explained.
‘I was a little bit disappointed in the first half that Liverpool didn’t go more gung-ho but every time they did really push on, they got played through and PSG could have scored in the first half. So I think they went about the game the right way.
‘The selection was a little bit of a head-scratcher. I’m amazed he didn’t stick Rio Ngumoha in after his performance the other day and most Liverpool fans are disgruntled by that.
‘But even if he had changed the team, even if he had done it a bit differently, I still think we’d be here with the same outcome.’
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