️ Arsenal's quadruple trophy hunt was halved within a week, and their UEFA Champions League hopes were given a stern test by Sporting Lisbon, who only narrowly squeezed past Bodo/Glimt to reach the quarterfinals. Sporting, who had to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit against the Norwegian side, trail leaders Porto by seven points in the Portuguese top flight, but proved more than a match for the English Premier League leaders in Lisbon on Tuesday, with only a late Kai Havertz strike separating the teams.
️ The 1-0 win favors Mikel Arteta's side ahead of the second leg in London next week, but it was another game that left the Gunners with as many questions as answers. Back-to-back defeats leading into the match – in the League Cup final against Manchester City and the FA Cup quarterfinals against second-tier Southampton – have left Arteta's team in danger of a late-season slump.
️ Having finished third in the Premier League for the last three seasons, Arsenal's chances of shedding the "nearly men" tag look promising this year. They hold a nine-point lead at the top of the English table with seven games to play, although Pep Guardiola's City in second do have a game in hand. However, even substitute Havertz's injury-time winner in Lisbon could not paper over the cracks of another troubled performance for the Gunners, and against a side that has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals of the competition.
️ Arteta said going into the match in Lisbon that questions about his team are to be expected, despite their Premier League lead and having lost only one game in the Champions League this season. He stated, "It's been like this for the last nine months, and that's going to continue; that's never going to change when you play at this level for this club." "There's always going to be a question mark, and that's it. You have to live in the present; you have to deliver every day."
️ Yet, the question mark is not only over his side. The Spanish manager struggles to hide his emotions, particularly in defeat, and it is understood that this is an area of concern for certain members of Arsenal's hierarchy, who believe the former midfielder's intensity at crucial moments could be holding his team back. This slump, marked by the first time they have been beaten in successive games this campaign, has plunged the club's long-suffering fans into a bout of soul-searching.
️ The North Londoners have not won a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, and their "nearly men" tag has raised doubts about their ability to finally land silverware. However, Arteta is convinced they can handle the mounting pressure of bidding to win the Champions League for the first time, while aiming to finally lift the Premier League trophy after a 22-year wait.
Source: www.aljazeera.com