Summary:
- Arsenal is getting ready to face Sporting after two straight defeats.
- Mikel Arteta has urged players to use their frustration as fuel.
- A series of injuries add more pressure ahead of the key Champions League tie.
Arsenal FC will travel to face Sporting CP in the 2026 Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night (April 7), and they have plenty to worry about.
Following back-to-back defeats to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and Southampton FC in the FA Cup, Mikel Arteta’s team faces questions about its ability to handle pressure at key moments.
Arteta: “Feel the Pain and Use It”
Despite looking strong, showing consistency, and leading the Premier League by nine points, Arteta’s side appears to have shifted its focus from its style of play to its mentality amid recent losses.
Arteta has made it clear that his players need to respond quickly.
Have some perspective about how difficult it is what we have done until now. Feel the pain, feel the emotion and use it to be better and improve
The defeat to Southampton, in particular, raised concerns, although Arteta believes his team did not deserve to lose.
This is football and we got punished for things that are related to our identity. These are things we need to defend in the strongest possible way.
Despite the setbacks, Arsenal remain in a strong position both domestically and in Europe. The Champions League tie against Sporting now offers a chance to reset and prove that the team can move past disappointment.
However, injuries could complicate matters. Key players, including Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber are unavailable, while others are still working their way back to full fitness.
Borgers: “They Will Be Like a Wounded Beast”
Sporting, meanwhile, see an opportunity. Their head coach Rui Borges expects a strong reaction from Arsenal.
They will be like a wounded beast. They will be more focused, more willing to show their collective and individual capacity.
He also stressed his team’s belief ahead of the match:
We believe we can do something extraordinary, something that has never been done by Sporting.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya:
We just have to use that fuel and pain we had after the game to pick it up for the rest of the season. It starts against Sporting. That is the most important game.