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
