JAKARTA - Arsenal had to work hard and was saved by Kai Havertz's last-minute goal to win 1-0 over Sporting Lisbon in the first match of the Champions League quarterfinal at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, Wednesday, April 8, 2026 early morning WIB.
Arsenal came to Lisbon with less good capital. How not, Arsenal failed to hunt for a quadruple after losing in the English League Cup final. In the final, they were forced to surrender 2-0 by Manchester City.
Failing in the Carabao Cup, Arsenal then hunted for a treble in the hope of winning three trophies in one season. However, the target was again missed because they were eliminated in the FA Cup. Facing the team from the Championship division Southampton, Mikel Arteta's team lost 2-1 and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
Now, Arsenal only hopes to win the Champions League trophy and the English Premier League. Interestingly, this North London club has never lifted the wide-eared trophy. They have also been a long time not winning the English League and the last time they won it in 2004 when legendary Thierry Henry was still under the legendary manager Arsene Wenger.
The disappointing achievements in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup make Arsenal a little burdened when visiting Sporting's headquarters. As proven, they had trouble and even got pressure from the host who forced goalkeeper David Raya to work hard.
Fortunately, Havertz was the savior. When Viktor Gyokeres failed to show sharpness when facing his former club, Havertz, who was a substitute, successfully overcame the deadlock in injury time.
This 1-0 victory is an important capital for The Gunners to qualify for the semifinals. The reason is, they only need a draw in the second match which will be held at home at the Emirates, Thursday, April 16, 2026 early morning WIB.
On the other hand, Sporting must work hard to get rid of Arsenal. The team coached by Rui Borges must be able to catch up with the goal deficit to qualify for the semifinals.
"We played more enthusiastic and fast. We were also more efficient when dismantling their defense, especially when the opponent played defensively," said Arteta in response to his team's performance and victory. According to him, Arsenal should have won more than one goal if it was not canceled.
"We also scored a goal that was later annulled. In addition, we had two or three opportunities that should have been goals. It must be admitted that we are weak in the final solution. In the end, our final solution won the match," he said again.
In that match, Arsenal played very aggressively. They want to show that they have a strong mentality and a winner. This is to answer criticism that Arsenal players like not having a winning mentality when facing critical situations.
Arteta himself stated that his players were 'hungrier than ever'. They also made the 'pain' of the failure as motivation to face the challenge.
The result, they did show dominance over their opponents. Even though they lost a number of important players, including Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapie, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal still performed solidly. The Premier League standings still appear with strong confidence against opponents who have a record of 17 wins in home games.
Arsenal indeed started the match under pressure. However, goalkeeper David Raya showed his best performance by thwarting Maxi Araujo's opportunity to maximize the pass from Ousmane Diomande. Likewise, the opportunity from midfielder Geny Catamo can be thwarted by Raya.
Under pressure, Arsenal was able to overcome it. They also managed to get out of the pressure and got an opportunity through Martin Odegaard. But his kick could be stopped by goalkeeper Rui Silva.
After failing to overcome the deadlock and making Arteta look frustrated, Arsenal's game was better in the second half. At least there was an opportunity from Leandro Trossard who almost scored a goal if his kick did not go wide. Furthermore, Odegaard's free kick can also be saved by Silva.
When the match was expected to end in a draw, Arsenal finally managed to overcome the deadlock. When the match entered injury time, Havertz managed to maximize a brilliant pass from Gabriel Martinelli. Havertz, who escaped the offside trap, fired a shot that defeated Silva.
The goal in the 90+1 minute gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead. The score remained until the end of the match and became a valuable capital for the Gunners to complete the quarterfinal round.
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