04/15/26 04:46:00
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04/15 16:44 CDT Arsenal outlasts Sporting Lisbon to set up Champions League
semifinal against Atletico Madrid
Arsenal outlasts Sporting Lisbon to set up Champions League semifinal against
Atletico Madrid
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
It's back-to-back Champions League semifinals for Arsenal.
A 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday saw
Arsenal advance 1-0 on aggregate to set up a clash with Atletico Madrid in the
last four of European club soccer's top competition.
"To go back-to-back is an amazing achievement for this group," Declan Rice told
TNT Sports. "We want to now go one step further than last year and get to the
final."
A Premier League and Champions League double remains possible for Mikel
Arteta's team, despite a slump in form in recent weeks.
Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 4-3 in Wednesday's other second-leg quarterfinal
to advance 6-4 on aggregate. The Germans face defending champion Paris
Saint-Germain in the semifinals.
Arsenal has never won the European Cup and only once reached the final. But it
is now just two games away from this year's showpiece in Budapest, Hungary.
Kai Havertz's late winner in the first leg of the quarterfinals in Portugal
last week proved to be decisive as Sporting failed to find a breakthrough in
London.
It is the fourth time Arsenal has advanced to the semifinals and the first time
it has gone back-to-back having lost to eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain at
that stage last season.
"To be part of those (final) four teams, it's something very special," Arteta
said. "It comes down to making the last step. We are making the steps that
haven't been done in this club for 140 years, so players deserve credit for
what they're doing."
The result was the perfect way for Arsenal to start a crucial week in which it
also plays Premier League title rival Manchester City on Sunday.
There have been signs of the tension getting to Arteta's players as the season
enters the closing stages, having lost the English League Cup final against
City and then crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of second-division
Southampton.
Defeat at home in the league against Bournemouth last weekend only added to the
sense that it was faltering at a critical time.
"Who cares what people think? All that matters is what this group thinks, what
the manager thinks and we're in another semifinal," Rice said. "Bring on the
last few weeks. It's a roller coaster, no one's going to hand you anything in
this game, so just keep going and, what will be will be."
It was another tight encounter between Arsenal and Sporting with chances rare.
Substitute Leandro Trossard came closest to winning it for Arsenal on the night
by heading against the post late on. Geny Catamo had hit the woodwork for
Sporting in the first half.
Arsenal and Atletico have already faced each other in the Champions League this
season, with the English club winning 4-0 in the league phase.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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