How Arsenal edged past a stubborn Sporting side to set up a UCL semi-final with Atletico

[p]After poor performances and results against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Man City[/a] in the Carabao Cup final, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southampton/WdKOwxDM/"]Southampton[/a] in the FA Cup and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a] in the Premier League, questions were once again being asked as to whether the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Gunners[/a] were 'bottlers.'[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sporting-cp/tljXuHBC/"]Sporting[/a]'s poor UCL away record[/h2][p]The one positive result among the three losses was the win at Sporting in the first leg, a victory which also happened to be Arsenal's first European knockout win on Portuguese soil.[/p][p]With no wins in their last six encounters, the visitors knew they'd have a mountain to climb at the Emirates Stadium.[/p][image alt="Arsenal vs Sporting - Recent head-to-head results" id="231bfeda-f187-43b8-a2a7-1a8c6e65be0c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="daab838a-b222-4522-82a8-230c540b7cfb" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Arsenal had also been perfect at home in this season's UCL with five wins out of five, scoring 14 goals and conceding just three. No team in the competition had kept them goalless in any of their 11 European matches to date in 2025/26 either.[/p][p]Sporting had won just once on the road in this season's competition, drawing one and losing the other three, though [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/borges-rui/vocqEUBt/"]Rui Borges[/a] may have taken heart in the fact that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arteta-mikel/lAbHYaQM/"]Mikel Arteta[/a] was forced into making multiple changes to his starting XI.[/p][h2]Four changes from Mikel Arteta[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mosquera-cristhian/4O15XViB/"]Cristhian Mosquera[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hincapie-pedro/2TTElOLP/"]Piero Hincapie[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eze-eberechi/Stf4BYFn/"]Eberechi Eze[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinelli/dITe5M88/"]Gabriel Martinelli[/a] replaced the injured [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/odegaard-martin/ID32TGhp/"]Martin Odegaard[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/calafiori-riccardo/CEwq7x7l/"]Riccardo Calafiori[/a], whilst [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/trossard-leandro/xUAbnjp2/"]Leandro Trossard[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/white-ben/pvGdJANj/"]Ben White[/a] were benched.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/timber-jurrien/hSaoLOM4/"]Jurrien Timber[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/merino-mikel/QFt86bm1/"]Mikel Merino[/a] still weren't fit enough to return, and neither was talisman, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saka-bukayo/08NLEo06/"]Bukayo Saka[/a], the Arsenal player with the most shots in the competition so far (25), and the most on target (14).[/p][image alt="Arsenal v Sporting - Starting XIs" id="749b4b4f-92ef-4e66-8ff8-1b668cb8d9af" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="d2d3c8f6-3bbf-42c8-973f-e053140b0b2c" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]With Sporting having drawn their last two in North London and only conceding a single goal in the process, Arsenal losing one of their major attacking threats favoured the visitors.[/p][p]However, it was the hosts who certainly came out on the front foot and had an astonishing 81% collective possession in the opening 10 minutes of the game.[/p][h2]Gyokeres anonymous again[/h2][p]Sporting didn't appear fazed, mind, and only three of their players had less than 100% pass completion during the same time frame.[/p][p]The visitors were quick to spring forward, too, with Piero Hincapie having to contest three early one-on-ones, winning two to keep the Portuguese side at bay.[/p][image alt="Viktor Gyokeres' heat map vs Sporting" id="8dd4c277-f8c2-40be-995c-97b13434a040" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="710687a2-b358-4e80-894a-4c63dd8809f4" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Ex-Sporting striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gyokeres-viktor/zaBZ1xIk/"]Viktor Gyokeres[/a] didn't get his first shot at goal until the 19th minute, with only his fourth touch of the game. [/p][p]That lack of associative play has become something of a recurring theme for the Swedish international, and perhaps explains why much of Arsenal's early attacking play was coming down either wing.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/trincao/vmYemyQS/"]Trincao[/a] causing problems[/h2][p]As the half progressed, one sensed the tension in the stands, and even the Gunners' much-lauded set-piece routines weren't coming off.  [/p][p]Unusually for the hosts, they were often outplayed in the midfield areas, with Trincao causing all sorts of problems when Sporting pushed forward.[/p][image alt="Arsenal vs Sporting - Player ratings" id="0d4fd1c9-ba7a-4076-b63e-609188ec0acc" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="3dda1c08-1e57-418e-b542-a853a8c37256" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]An unbeatable 13 completed passes from 13 attempted, despite being under the most intense pressure, meant that the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zubimendi-martin/fNI6Gsdr/"]Martin Zubimendi[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rice-declan/zkQ8Cm6n/"]Declan Rice[/a] couldn't get forward to support Noni [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/madueke-chukwunonso/Ac57P9Pt/"]Madueke[/a] and Gabriel Martinelli as much as they'd like.[/p][p]Just eight collective touches in Sporting's box in the first half was enough evidence that Arsenal weren't getting things all their own way.[/p][h2]Nervy Arsenal[/h2][p]Hincapie's four tackles attempted, more than any other player on the pitch, helped to keep his side in the game, albeit Sporting hadn't really threatened as an attacking force themselves, given they'd had no shots on target by the break.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raya-david/nkVV0IXb/"]David Raya[/a]'s mistake in the lead-up to half-time almost saw the tie levelled on aggregate, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/catamo-geny/29eth6dF/"]Geny Catamo[/a] grazed the post with an outside-of-the-boot left-foot volley.[/p][image alt="Arsenal vs Sporting - Momentum shift" id="bb53b4dc-3e5f-4259-9f9f-fa505c98e7e8" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="18cc6efe-ac23-4f3e-9fb6-be07019f7d89" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hjulmand-morten/pjC6hC8U/"]Morten Hjulmand[/a] won back possession on three separate occasions, as well as four of his five one-on-one duels and two of his three tackles, frustrating Arteta's side in the process.[/p][p]Fewer interceptions and tackles made and won by Arsenal in the first 45 minutes told part of the story, as did the fact that they were forced into a back five at the start of the second half.[/p][h2]Sporting's purpose[/h2][p]Within two minutes, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/araujo-maximiliano/4UXCOm0L/"]Maxi Araujo[/a] had the stadium holding its breath, though his shot was another off-target attempt.[/p][p]Martinelli and Madueke weren't making any headway down the channels, and their respective pass completion of 75.0% and 78.3% were the worst from an Arsenal perspective, other than Gyokeres.[/p][image alt="Arsenal vs Sporting - Match stats" id="fd9152f3-fdf5-46a1-a39e-7c6736ef8d7f" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="1754ec75-1e0e-4d56-9a01-bb307cf341b1" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The least surprising move of the night came when the Swedish international was hooked before the hour, the striker having touched the ball only 14 times in 55 minutes. [/p][p]Sporting's more purposeful passing and superior movement pinned the hosts back in their defensive third, and another Raya mistake suggested a nervousness among the Arsenal players that has become a feature of their recent performances.[/p][h2]Visitors out of ideas[/h2][p]Cristhian Mosquera added to the panic when pushing over Araujo in the area, but fortunately for the defender, a penalty wasn't forthcoming.[/p][p]The visitors were matching the Premier League champions-elect in every department, including having a better collective pass completion and 67% possession in the 15 minutes directly after the hour mark. [/p][embed guid="db935234-17ad-4e81-a4c1-63983b3b7328" url="https://x.com/Arsenal/status/2044519177419948441" social-type="twitter" /][p]That the majority of Arsenal's passing came between their defence and midfielders undoubtedly contributed to Arteta's frustration, which led to him receiving a yellow card with 20 minutes to play.[/p][p]However, though Sporting were still in the tie, they were out of ideas in attacking terms and didn't threaten a back line that had won 19 of their 33 one-on-one duels.[/p][p]As the game edged towards its conclusion, Arsenal's superior game-management experience saw them ease to a result that takes them to a second Champions League semi-final in succession for the first time in their history.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-hA1Zm19f/sporting-cp-tljXuHBC/?mid=nJz1sa9F"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="b3d3e550-bb92-4e47-84c3-7753043b886c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="acbb858b-9307-47fe-ae42-02a9930b2236" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]