It’s back-to-back Champions League semi-finals for Arsenal.
A 0-0 draw against Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead on Wednesday, setting up a clash with Atletico Madrid in the last four of Europe’s top club football competition.
“To go back-to-back is a great achievement for this group,” said Declan Rice TNT Sports. “We now want to go one step further than last year and reach the final.”
A double in the Premier League and Champions League remains possible for Mikel Arteta’s team, despite a decline in form in recent weeks.
Arsenal have never won the European Cup and have only reached the final once. But it is now just two games away from this year’s showpiece event in Budapest, Hungary.
Kai Havertz’s late winner in the first leg of the quarter-finals in Portugal last week proved decisive as Sporting failed to find a breakthrough in London.
It is the fourth time Arsenal have progressed to the semi-finals and the first time in a row after losing at that stage to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain last season.
“To be part of these (final) four teams is something very special,” Arteta said. «It’s about taking the final step. We are taking steps that have not been taken at this club for 140 years, so players deserve recognition for what they do.»
The result was the perfect start to a crucial week for Arsenal in which they also play Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
There are signs that tension is mounting among Arteta’s players as the season enters its final stages, after losing the English League Cup final to City and then crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of second-tier Southampton.
The league defeat at home to Bournemouth last weekend only reinforced the feeling that the league was teetering 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 semi-final,» Rice said. «Bring on the last few weeks. It’s a rollercoaster, nobody’s going to give you anything in this game, so just keep going and what will be will be.»
It was another exciting encounter between Arsenal and Sporting, with rare opportunities.
Substitute Leandro Trossard came closest to victory for Arsenal that evening with a late header against the post. 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 competition phase.
Published on April 16, 2026
