Mikel Arteta heaped praise on ‘finishers’ Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz for coming on and conjuring up the ‘magic’ moment to steer Arsenal to victory over Sporting.
The two teams had looked to be heading for a stalemate in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg, with Martin Zubimendi having a goal disallowed by VAR for offside in the second half.
Not for the first time this season, David Raya was Arsenal’s arguably standout player across the 90 minutes, producing three fine saves to keep the scoreline level at Lisbon’s Jose Alvalade Stadium.
But Arsenal rang the chances in the final 20 minutes in search of a winner and the visitors were rewarded for their endeavor as Martinelli and Havertz combined to make the breakthrough in stoppage time.
Having already caused problems off the bench, Martinelli cut inside with purpose before dinking the ball through to Havertz, who took a brilliant touch, set himself and coolly finished past Rui Silva.
The Gunners held firm to preserve their narrow advantage in the dying moments, ensuring they take a 1-0 lead back to the Emirates in a week’s time.
After a difficult period for Arsenal, which saw the club’s ambitious quadruple – and treble – hopes go up in smoke, Arteta told Amazon Prime: ‘Very happy to win away from home in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against a team that have not lost at home for I don’t know how long.
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‘I think the last time was probably in Europe as well, that shows the difficulty of it.
‘In the end, a magic moment from the finishers wins us the game. Beautiful and that’s the impact you need when you get to this stage of the season.
‘Everybody has to make an impact and they certainly did that tonight.’
After crediting Martinez and Havertz with changing the game off the bench, Arteta made sure to single out Raya on another ‘phenomenal’ and ‘exceptional’ performance between the sticks.
‘He had two moments where he made two big saves,’ the Arsenal boss said of his fellow countryman.
‘That’s the Champions League, the Champions League is always decided in the boxes and because there’s so much quality here.
‘At the moment he’s phenomenal and extraordinary since he joined us. We are very lucky to have him.’
Despite securing the win, the Arsenal boss did not hide away from the fact that his side had struggled to find their rhythm in the final third.
‘Yes, because when we got into the final third and we sat there we missed the final bit,’ Arteta replied when asked if was concerned his side may fail to find the net.
‘We had to be a little bit crisper, faster, more efficient to break them down when they had that block.
‘We had a goal disallowed and there were two or three occasions where we were close but we lacked that final pass.’
In his post-match interview with Amazon Prime, Havertz claimed ’80 per cent’ of his goal belonged to Martinelli for his incisive play and pinpoint assist in the build-up.
‘I was there to finish it off,’ the German forward, who came on in place of Martin Odegaard in the 70th minute, explained.
‘I but it was a top assist from him, I saw him and he just played the perfect pass and it was a good goal.’
On Raya’s showing, Havertz added: ‘He’s unbelievable.
‘I still think people underestimate him in the football world, but for the last two years, I don’t know, maybe he’s been the best goalkeeper in the world and we’re all glad to have him here.’
Are Arsenal the favourites to win the Champions League?
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Yes
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No
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