Arsenal score late winner at Sporting Lisbon to take 1-0 first-leg advantage back to London next week.Published On 7 Apr 20267 Apr 2026Kai Havertz snatched a last-gasp winner as Arsenal bounced back from their domestic distress to steal a 1-0 victory at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg.Mikel Arteta’s side arrived at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on Tuesday, rocked by successive defeats against Manchester City in the League Cup final and Southampton in the FA Cup quarterfinals.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listOnce again, the Gunners were below their best, but they emerged with the win thanks to Sporting’s lack of cutting edge and Havertz’s clinical finish in stoppage time.Arsenal will be the firm favourites to advance to the semifinals in the second leg in north London on April 15, but they will have to improve significantly to win the tournament for the first time.Those agonising losses to City and second-tier Southampton marked the first time that Arsenal had been beaten in successive matches this term, with the embarrassing FA Cup defeat just the Gunners’ fifth of the season.The after-shocks were still being felt as Arsenal struggled to find any momentum in Lisbon, but not for the first time this season, they found a way to win ugly.Aiming to finally banish accusations that they are English football’s nearly-men by winning their first major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, Arsenal have faced pointed questions about their perceived lack of mental strength.Grinding out the win in Lisbon was a suitable riposte to the critics.Insisting his players were “hungrier than ever”, Arteta had urge …
