Arsenal 0-0 Sporting CP (1-0 agg): Arteta´s side edge into last four thanks to first-leg triumph

Arsenal scraped into the Champions League semi-finals after Wednesday’s goalless home draw sent them through with a 1-0 aggregate win over Sporting CP.

Kai Havertz’s late winner in last week’s first leg ultimately proved decisive as Arsenal teed up a last-four meeting with Atletico Madrid, but Mikel Arteta’s side were far from convincing at the Emirates Stadium.

Trincao fired narrowly wide early on after Morten Hjulmand profited from William Saliba’s careless mistake, before Viktor Gyokeres responded by dipping a swerving strike over Rui Silva’s crossbar.

Sporting should have surged in front on the stroke of half-time when Maxi Araujo found Catamo, whose left-footed volley clipped the post, having seen David Raya’s error almost allow the visitors in minutes earlier.

Araujo angled just off target as Sporting’s momentum continued into the second half, though Gabriel Martinelli flashed a half-volley over and Noni Madueke blazed into the side-netting down the other end.

Sporting then had penalty appeals waved away, claiming Cristhian Mosquera had pushed Araujo from behind, before substitute Havertz rushed an attempted backheel finish with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Leandro Trossard headed against the woodwork from Max Dowman’s right-sided corner late on, while Joao Simoesas offered a stoppage-time scare by powering wide of the right-hand corner as Arsenal held on to keep their European dream alive.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALISTS pic.twitter.com/4PGvD6x7jU

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 15, 2026

Data Debrief: Defence covers misfiring Arsenal attack

Arsenal’s timid first-half performance was hardly the response they needed following Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League, and this opening 45 minutes continued a concerning trend.

Arteta’s side have scored just one non-penalty goal in the first halves of their last eight matches in all competitions, including none in their last five, and they will be desperate to change that in their potential Premier League title decider versus Manchester City on Sunday.

But on this occasion, Arsenal did not need to score. They have now lost just one of their last 24 European home games (W17 D6), going down 1-0 against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s semi-finals.

Arsenal have also kept a clean sheet in 17 of their last 23 European matches at the Emirates, conceding just nine goals overall.

This was always going to prove a tough ask for Sporting, who have failed to beat Arsenal in any of their nine meetings in European competitions (L4 D5), the most the Portuguese side have faced any opponent without ever winning.

And this second-leg clash will hardly live long in the memory after Arsenal accumulated just 0.67 expected goals (xG) to Sporting’s 0.23 in a nervy affair that saw just one shot on target for each team.