Arsenal player ratings vs. Sporting CP: Grading the Gunners in Champions League quarterfinal second leg

 

 

Having reached a breaking point in the 2025-26 campaign, Arsenal did only just enough to advance to the Champions League semifinals as they held Sporting CP scoreless in the second leg of their Champions League matchup..

 

The result saw Arsenal through to the final four by a 1-0 aggregate score, advancing thanks to a first leg goal from Kai Havertz last week in Portugal.

 

With their European lives on the line in front of their home fans, Arsenal produced a wholly uninspiring 90-minute performance, lacking ingenuity in the final third and failing to profit in front of goal. On the back end, the Gunners were mostly tidy, but having failed to score on the other end, it made the few chances Sporting had extremely nervy until the final whistle.

 

The Sporting News evaluates the performance of those on the pitch for Mikel Arteta in the second leg of the UCL quarterfinal, with the huge Man City game on the weekend fast approaching.

 

MORE: Should Arsenal fire Mikel Arteta if they fail to win a single trophy this season?

 

Arsenal starting lineup vs. Sporting CP

 

Mikel Arteta has gone with a more defensive back line, starting four natural central defenders as Cristhian Mosquera gets the nod at right-back over Ben White. Meanwhile, it was Gabriel Martinelli who rotates in at left wing, with Leandro Trossard on the bench.

 

Arsenal are still without Bukayo Saka who withdrew from England international duty in late March and has yet to return.

 

Mikel Arteta was also sweating the fitness of Declan Rice who picked up a knock and is a doubt for participation today, but he passed fit to start. Others who were checked before kickoff and failed to achieve availability were Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber, while Mikel Merino remains out for another month or so with a broken foot.

 

MORE: Get a closer look at all Arsenal injury updates and team news

 

Arsenal starting lineup (4-3-3): 1. Raya (GK) — 3. Mosquera, 2. Saliba, 6. Gabriel, 5. Hincapie — 36. Zubimendi, 41. Rice, 10. Eze (Jesus, 79′) — 20. Madueke (Madueke, 63′), 14. Gyokeres (Havertz, 56′), 11. Martinelli (Trossard, 79′).

 

Arsenal subs: Kepa (GK), Setford (GK), White, Lewis-Skelly, Salmon, Norgaard, Havertz, Dudziak, Trossard, Dowman, Jesus.

 

Arsenal player ratings vs. Sporting CP in Champions League second leg

 

Starters

 

Goalkeeper: David Raya — 5

 

Played the first 45 minutes without needing to make a single save. Made an extremely poor pass under pressure in the 40th minute that nearly handed Sporting CP a free chance. Hit on 50% of his long ball deliveries, which is standard.

 

A brilliant long throw to Leandro Trossard in stoppage time which started a counter, which was then wasted by the Belgian.

 

Overall a very shaky performance from the Arsenal goalkeeper.

 

Right-back: Cristhian Mosquera — 5

 

As you might imagine from a natural centre-back, looked very uncomfortable carrying the ball forward in possession and therefore struggled to provide any progression on the right flank. This forced Noni Madueke to carry much of the load, as he received the ball a bit deeper than you may want.

 

Shortly after halftime Mosquera completely whiffed defending Maxi Araujo whose little flick went right by and got a good look at goal with which the Sporting winger fired wide. He was again beaten by Araujo in the 65th minute and decided to give him a little shove in the back to prevent an open header on goal, and was very lucky not to concede a penalty.

 

Centre-back: William Saliba — 8

 

Four tackles in 45 minutes from a central defender is an excellent tally. Assured in possession, assured at the back. No issues whatsoever from the Frenchman. His only error was an ugly errant diagonal pass that gave possession away in his own half inside the opening 20 minutes, but it came to nothing for Sporting. Was a behemoth at the back after that mistake, and hardly put a foot wrong, finishing with nine total defensive contributions.

 

Centre-back: Gabriel — 7

 

Tidy work through 45 minutes from Gabriel, who avoided any major mistakes and didn’t have much to do defensively. Could have communicated better with Hincapie on the missed Geny chance to inform his left-back that he was marking the wrong opponent. By the end of the match, his 89% passing accuracy leaves a little to be desired from a central defender, but his defending was nearly spotless.

 

Left-back: Piero Hincapie — 6

 

Arsenal were, as usual, very right-heavy in their ball progression, but Hincapie got forward a ton down the left wing and aided in the build-up where he could. A lively performance in possession from the Ecuadorian.

 

Made a massive defensive error just before halftime by leaving his man at the far post and getting sucked in towards the ball, marking Gabriel’s man instead of watching his zone. Very lucky Geny Catamo didn’t put Sporting in front.

 

A foul throw in the second half was a bit of an embarrassing moment. Went flying forward on a late counter-attack with the game waning, displaying impressive energy this late in the game.

 

Midfielder: Martin Zubimendi — 8

 

Was lively in both phases of the game as Arsenal’s best performer of the opening half. Carried and distributed the ball forward well to start attacking possession, and also defended with strength and accuracy. Made four defensive contributions in the opening 45 minutes, including an impressive three tackles. Also completed a team-high five passes into the final third, and led the team through the first half with four recoveries.

 

In the second half, Zubimendi was shackled a bit more, but still finished a strong performance as Arsenal’s strongest player on the whole. He won all five of his ground duels and contributed seven defensive actions, chipping in all over the field.

 

Midfielder: Declan Rice — 6

 

A relatively non-descript first half featuring little in the way of influence from Declan Rice, but his passing was tidy, missing with just one of 39 attempts in the opening 45 minutes. He conceded much of the possession in the centre of the final third to Zubimendi, who shone on the ball.

 

Showed better in the second half, including a good low diagonal ball for Gabriel Martinelli in the 69th minute.

 

Midfielder: Eberechi Eze — 7

 

Easily the most lively Arsenal playmaker, Eze was bright throughout that first half, especially early on as Arsenal pressed hard in the opening stages of the match. Delivered an absolutely sensational through-ball for the run of Martin Zubimendi on the half-hour mark.

 

Found himself in good shooting position in the 50th minute but disappointingly missed the target. A wasteful shot in the 72nd minute as he lashed at a bouncing ball with almost no hope of putting it on target.

 

Surprisingly substituted in the 79th minute by Gabriel Jesus, an odd decision by Mikel Arteta as Eze had been Arsenal’s most effective attacker across the whole of the match to that point. A decent if not inspiring performance from the former Crystal Palace man.

 

Right winger: Noni Madueke — 6

 

Caused problems for Sporting when on the ball in the final third. Won a foul in a dangerous position with a strong charge in the 21st minute which was wasted. Won another a few minutes later after nutmegging a defender, which he took himself and delivered well but was claimed by the goalkeeper.

 

Did well with a chance in the 56th minute, especially considering Martin Zubimendi got in his way as he drove towards goal, but ended up putting it into the side netting as he couldn’t quite work room to shoot around the defender. His evening came to an abrupt end after picking up a knock to his knee, with Max Dowman replacing him in the 63rd minute.

 

Despite the impetus, Madueke struggled to get past defenders and find Viktor Gyokeres for the finishing touch, as Sporting repeatedly hacked the England winger instead of let him go by. While winning fouls can be a profitable strategy, it ultimately prevented him from completing attacking moves.

 

Left winger: Gabriel Martinelli — 5

 

Didn’t have much to work with in the attacking half, as most of the buildup went through Eze and Madueke, with only 11 touches through the first half-hour. Got back and defended extremely well to cut down a Sporting counter-attack in the 22nd minute.

 

Produced a vicious volley early in the second half which fizzed just over the crossbar. Faded considerably in the second half and finished with a very poor 1/7 record on ground duels, including 0/3 dribbling at opponents. A for effort given the lopsided tactical approach, but he was not at the races today.

 

Striker: Viktor Gyokeres — 5

 

Was a threat at the head of the Arsenal attack, but fed on scraps a bit, with just four touches in the opening 30 minutes and 11 through the first half. Did poorly after cropping up on the ball in the six-yard box for his chance in the 28th minute. Didn’t manage to create much for himself when on the ball, as he drew multiple defenders and failed to take advantage of the imbalance that left.

 

Substituted off in the 56th minute for Kai Havertz, having produced a disappointing performance.

 

Substitutes

 

This section will be updated when players emerge off the Arsenal bench to take part in the match.

 

56th min: Kai Havertz — 4

 

Came on just before the hour mark to replace Viktor Gyokeres. Barely did anything at all, failing to provide the influence that Gyokeres was missing. Borderline invisible.

 

63rd min: Max Dowman — 7

 

Came on to replace an injured Noni Madueke with 27 minutes to shine. Looked to make things happen almost immediately, but wasn’t very successful with his attempts to take on Sporting defenders. Won a number of fouls including one that produced a yellow card for Maxi Araujo.

 

79th min: Leandro Trossard — 6

 

Came on to replace a spent Gabriel Martinelli. Struck the post with a header in the 84th minute off a Max Dowman corner, although it did appear he may have meant to head it across the face of goal rather than put it on target.

 

A number of times he received the ball in the attacking third he chose to pull it back rather than go at the Sporting goal, which normally would be a source of frustration, but given the situation it played into Arsenal’s ability to control the match.

 

79th min: Gabriel Jesus — 7

 

Came on late to replace Eberechi Eze, a somewhat surprising substitution, but Jesus backed the decision with a burst of excellent energy late in the game. Produced a strong run in the 85th minute going right around Ousmane Diomande, only to disappointingly put the ball into the side netting. Gave great effort to win the ball back at every opportunity he had.

 

Coach

 

Mikel Arteta — 5

 

Sure, Arsenal managed to progress, but the “fire” that Arteta promised ahead of this match was missing entirely.

 

The aggression through the opening 10 minutes proved what Arsenal are capable of when given even an ounce of freedom, but Arteta put the handcuffs back on after they failed to profit in that short span, and it put Arsenal in a difficult position.

 

After Kai Havertz was brought on for the final 30 minutes, the decision to substitute Eberechi Eze off shortly after was baffling. Not only had Eze been strong throughout the game, but the chance to get Eze and Havertz combining together to prepare for the stretch run of the season was squandered.

 

A poor performance from Arteta overall, and one that fails to inspire any kind of confidence of a good result against Man City on the weekend. The team is vulnerable when set up in this way, but Arteta clearly has no intention of changing his ways.

 

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