Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon: Team News, Injuries and Quarter-Final Preview

Arsenal return to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night knowing they are one step from another Champions League semi-final, but only if they handle Sporting CP more cleanly than they did in Lisbon. Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time winner gave Arteta’s side a 1-0 first-leg lead last week, and that leaves Arsenal with the advantage heading into the second leg in north London. A draw would be enough to send them through, but the margin is narrow enough to keep the tie alive.

The first leg was tight for long periods before Arsenal found the breakthrough at the end. Gabriel Martinelli created the goal, and Havertz supplied the finish in the 91st minute, sealing Arsenal’s 10th win of this season’s Champions League campaign. The result also extended Arsenal’s unbeaten record against Sporting in Europe to six matches, with three wins and three draws across those meetings.

There is still enough in the numbers to warn Arsenal against relaxing. Sporting may have lost the first leg at home, but Rui Borges’ side has already matched their best-ever run in the competition and travels to London believing the tie can still be turned. Arsenal’s latest result, a 1-2 home defeat to Bournemouth, has left the Gunners with a lot to prove, while Sporting arrive after a 1-0 league win away to Estrela Amadora on Saturday. That contrast makes Arsenal’s response to the weekend setback part of the story as much as the first-leg lead itself.

Arsenal's picture is clearer than it was a few days ago, but it's still incomplete. Ahead of Bournemouth, Arteta confirmed Eberechi Eze was available again after his calf problem and said there had been “changes since yesterday” when asked about Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori missing training. Pressed on whether that group could be involved, he replied: “I don’t know, some of them.” Arteta also offered a positive line on Mikel Merino’s recovery, saying the midfielder was out of his protective boot and progressing well after foot surgery.

Eze's return as a substitute against Bournemouth, at least, gives Arteta one more attacking option for the visit of Sporting. Further clarity should arrive before kick-off, with updates expected from Mikel Arteta on Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Sporting Lisbon second leg.

Sporting’s situation is mixed as well. Nuno Santos, Luís Guilherme and Fotis Ioannidis are all currently listed as out, while the expectation is that captain Morten Hjulmand will be back in midfield after he missed the first leg. Rui Borges also revealed after the Estrela win that Iván Fresneda came off at half-time because he was “complaining about a knock”, and said Gonçalo Inácio had been managed for physical reasons to avoid a setback during a heavy run of games.

Before the first leg, the Sporting coach said Arsenal are “perhaps even stronger than last year” and warned that Arteta’s side can punish any lapse “in a millisecond,” and Arsenal did exactly that with a late winner. After Lisbon, he kept the same tone, saying Sporting would need to be “mature and intelligent” but adding that he was “firmly convinced” his side would be competitive in London and “see this tie through to the end”.

In practical terms, that points to a game where Arsenal should have more control of the ball and more territorial pressure, but not necessarily an easy night. In need of a goal, Sporting can't afford to sit off for 90 minutes, and their first-leg performance showed they can create chances in transition and from quick moments around the box. Sporting are winless in their last 10 away matches against English opposition.

The likeliest shape of the match is an Arsenal side trying to control the tempo early, protect against the sort of loose moments that keep underdogs in ties, and avoid making the night anxious if the breakthrough does not come quickly. Sporting have enough belief to push the game, and enough pace and quality to make Arsenal pay if the home side gets stretched. But Arsenal have the lead, the better recent home record, and the clearer route through the tie. The challenge is to make those advantages count without turning, in a time where the Gunners have been visibly struggling.