Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time winner as Arsenal snatched a dramatic 1-0 victory over Sporting CP in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Jose Alvalade Stadium. The result puts Mikel Arteta's side in a strong position ahead of next week's return leg at the Emirates.
The match looked set to end goalless after Martin Zubimendi had a beautiful curling effort disallowed by VAR, with former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres adjudged offside in the build-up. However, with time running out, Havertz slipped through the Sporting defence to latch onto a dinked pass from substitute Gabriel Martinelli before slotting past goalkeeper Rui Silva.
The win ends a run of two consecutive domestic cup defeats for Arsenal and restores confidence ahead of the second leg. Goalkeeper David Raya, who made key saves to keep Sporting at bay, expressed full belief in the team's ability to win the Champions League. 'We believe 100 per cent that we can win it,' Raya told Amazon Prime. 'We go game by game and show what we can do.'
Havertz echoed that sentiment, describing the victory as a 'big turnaround' after recent setbacks. 'We stick together as a group, we have so much more to come this season,' he said. 'Seven weeks to go, we can win big titles and we're going to go for that.'
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted he was concerned a goal might not arrive, but praised his side's resilience. 'We had to be a little bit crisper, faster, more efficient to break them down,' he said. 'In the end, we found a way.'
