Arsenal welcome Sporting CP to north London with Mikel Arteta’s misfiring team looking to press home their 1-0 first-leg advantage and reach the Champions League semifinals, and you can follow it live with ESPN.
Kai Havertz‘s 91st-minute goal last week has Arsenal in the driving seat heading into the second leg, but that win in Lisbon came between defeats to Manchester City, Southampton and Bournemouth, leaving many wondering if the Gunners are getting nervy heading into the business end of the season?
Can they hold their nerve to progress past Sporting tonight?
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Should Arsenal get the better of Sporting at the Emirates tonight, they would succeed in reaching back-to-back Champions League semifinals for the first time. It would also mark a significant step towards the capture of a first major European trophy for the Gunners, who have only previously lifted one European Cup Winners’ Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Arsenal are unbeaten in eight games against Portuguese teams in Europe (W6, D2), but how much damage the home defeat to Bournemouth will have done to what seem like already fraying nerves remains to be seen.
They were made to suffer for their win in Lisbon last week, but an impressive win in north London against Sporting could calm troubled waters and allow Arteta’s team to return to domestic action with a new-found confidence.
