Arsenal reached the Champions League semi-finals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s team were well below their best in the quarter-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium, but they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay.
The Gunners will face Atletico Madrid for a place in the final after the Spanish club went through 3-2 on aggregate against Barcelona on Tuesday. Arsenal crushed Atletico 4-0 in the group stage at the Emirates in October, but they will have to improve significantly to reach the final for the first time since 2006.
Arsenal have reached the Champions League semi-finals in two consecutive seasons for the first time in their history. Yet after losing three of their last five games in all competitions and winning just once, they remain a puzzling side in the midst of an untimely stumble.
Arteta had challenged Arsenal to play with “pure fire” and “zero fear” in an unusually passionate press conference on Tuesday. The response was hardly emphatic as Arsenal quickly retreated into their shell in another display lacking cohesion and quality in the final third.
Goalkeeper David Raya nearly gifted Sporting a goal with a woeful pass that was intercepted, while Geny Catamo was inches away from punishing Arsenal’s lethargy when he volleyed against the far post from an acute angle just before half-time.
Eberechi Eze’s drive whistled narrowly wide after the interval, and Sporting appealed in vain for a penalty, but Arsenal held firm as Arteta breathed a sigh of relief.
The Premier League leaders are on course for both league and European glory, but the flaws in Arteta’s side have become increasingly clear in recent weeks. Arsenal are just six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand and host the Gunners in a seismic showdown on Sunday. The north Londoners have finished Premier League runners-up for the past three seasons, and the nerves are mounting.
