Arsenal return to Champions League action on Tuesday, looking to bounce back from back-to-back cup defeats.
These two sides have met three times in the past three years. The first of those three came in a 2-2 draw in Lisbon in the first leg of the Last 16 of the Europa League. In the return leg in N5, Sporting Lisbon progressed on penalties after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. And the most recent meeting between these sides came in November 2024, when Arsenal won 5-1 in Lisbon.
Sporting Lisbon enjoyed an impressive Champions League, league phase, finishing within the top 8, above the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain. This match will be far from easy for the Gunners, as in the last 16, the Portuguese outfit overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit against Norwegian side Bodo Glimt. Rui Borges’ side won 3-0 after 90 minutes, which sent the tie into extra time, where goals from Araujo and Nel sent Sporting through, to set up a Last 8 meeting with Arsenal.
Arsenal are yet to lose in this season’s Champions League. The Gunners won all 8 of their league phase matches which resulted in a 1st place finish. Mikel Arteta’s men were then drawn against Bayer Leverkusen in the Last 16, where they won 3-1 across the two legs, drawing 1-1 in Germany, then winning 2-0 in England.
Sporting Lisbon come into this first leg clash off the back of back-to-back league wins against Alverca and Santa Clara, and in their last three matches in all competitions, they have found the net thirteen times, while Arsenal come into this meeting off the back of back-to-back cup defeats against Manchester City in the League Cup Final, then against Southampton in the FA Cup.
Sporting Lisbon will be without their captain Morten Hjulmand for Tuesday’s first leg through suspension. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed that Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka will not be available for Arsenal in Lisbon, however, Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel will all be available for selection.
Viktor Gyokeres scored an impressive 97 times for Sporting Lisbon in only 102 appearances, and manager Rui Borges hopes that the Swede will receive a positive reception from the Sporting faithful when he returns to Lisbon on Tuesday:
“He is a great player, and I am sure he will be welcomed by everyone because he marked the history of Sporting, and he deserves this acknowledgement.
“I always try to be balanced, and I try to understand everyone. He had the ambition, and after talking to the management, they came to an understanding so ultimately everything that happened was correct for both sides; both Sporting and the player got what they wanted. He wanted to take that step in his career and we respect that.
“Players will change, but the club stays the same, and Sporting will go on winning. I wish him (Gyokeres) all the best and I am sure he will be very welcome here because the admiration we have for him is great.”
Rui Borges on Arsenal:
“It is a great team, and great teams always want to win. They want to be in all competitions.
“They will be like a wounded beast tomorrow. They will be more focused, more willing to show their collective and individual capacity.
“Frankly, I think it will make things more difficult for us the fact that they have not had the best two last matches. But Arsenal will be facing a very motivated team. We believe we can do something extraordinary tomorrow, something that has never been done by Sporting.”
Mikel Arteta on Sporting Lisbon:
“Before we played them as well, when you look at what they’ve done, especially at home, the way they have behaved in this Champions League, the teams that they have beaten, we know the difficulty of the match. That’s why we want it even more.”
