And then there were two.
Arsenal’s season hit another speed bump on Saturday when they were beaten 2-1 by Southampton in the FA Cup quarterfinals. It was a second consecutive match where the Gunners looked well off it, and a second cup exit in as many matches. Now, the Premier League and Champions League campaigns remain their best chance at finally breaking their trophy drought.
It’s not time to panic, but the alarm bells have begun ringing. The loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final stung,
but Saturday’s loss in the FA Cup felt even worse. In a second straight match, the Gunners did most everything wrong. The attack had plenty of the ball, but couldn’t do anything with it. The rotated midfield was not up to the task. Worst of all, the defense looked positively shook as the hosts routinely found space in behind.
You can chalk some of the performance up to the heavily rotated side and the lack of several key players, or say that it was the first match back after a two week break. No matter how you rationalize it, it was another brutal result ahead of the run-in when Arsenal will need to be at their best if they want to finish the season with something to show for it.
The tests ahead of them don’t get any easier with a trip to face a red-hot Sporting side for the first leg of the CL quarterfinals. The Gunners need to sort themselves out, and quickly, if they want to prevent history from repeating itself. With a more familiar lineup on Saturday, can they return to form when it matters most?
Here are three talking points ahead of Tuesday:
Know the Enemy
Sporting CP earned a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals after a dramatic second leg comeback against Bodø/Glimt in the round of 16. The Portuguese side looked destined to be the next victims of the Norwegian underdogs after a first leg 3-0 loss, but a second leg 5-0 win broke the hearts of the wider footballing fandom hoping to see the Cinderella story last another round.
Looking at their season, though, that result wasn’t surprising. They have a potent offense with 72 goals scored and a +55 goal difference in the Portuguese Premiera Liga, both tops in the league. In the Champions League, they won 5 of their 8 league phase matches, including a victory over current title holders Paris St. Germain, to finish 7th and earn a knockout round bye. Outside of their loss in the first leg to Bodø, their last loss in all competitions came all the way back in December against Bayern Munich in the CL league phase.
Their manager will have seen Arsenal’s recent performances and be relishing the opportunity on Tuesday to inflict more damage on the Gunners. Their attack isn’t all that dissimilar from Southampton, but they are certainly more clinical. They are fast in transition and break in past the back line with long balls regularly, which Arsenal struggled with on Saturday. They are quick and keep possession with short passes and look to control the match in the opposition’s half. To cap it all off, they are very strong at defending set pieces.
Arsenal’s history with Sporting is fairly short, with most of it in the past decade. Facing off 7 times, the Gunners have won three to Sporting’s one, with three draws between them. Their most recent tie saw the Gunners travel to Portugal for a league phase match last season, where Arsenal put in a dominant performance in a lopsided 1-5 affair.
Knockouts, though, are a different beast. The last time the Gunners faced Sporting over two legs is a sore memory for many fans. Entering the round of 16 of the Europa League in 2023, Arsenal were favorites to make it to the finals as they led the PL with Manchester City in 2nd place. The first leg in Portugal ended 2-2 with everything to play for at the Emirates in the second leg. By half time of that second leg, the Gunners lost Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba to season-ending injuries before losing on penalties to the visitors. From there, the season collapsed as a young and inexperienced Arsenal side could not cope with the pressure or injuries.
The last thing Arsenal want is for history to repeat itself, and the similarities entering this tie are far too close for comfort. Three years on, it will be a big test of their growth, as well as Mikel Arteta’s.
Injuries & Suspensions
The Gunners entered the weekend with a slew of players that were questionable entering the cup tie. Thankfully, a few were back in the fold with Noni Madueke and Gabriel Magalhães returning after knocks before or during the break.
The biggest addition, though, was Martin Ødegaard. The club captain finally returned to action after another lengthy recovery spell from a knee injury.
Despite an injury scare during the match, Gabriel Magalhães was spotted in training on Monday morning, which is a big boost. Even bigger was the news that Eberechi Eze was back and could feature on Tuesday. Regardless, his availability will be huge for the upcoming stretch of matches, as Martin Ødegaard is probably still working back to match fitness.
OUT: Mikel Merino (foot)
DOUBT: Piero Hincapie (hamstring)
Predicted Lineup
Attack: Trossard, Gyökeres, Saka
After two weeks of rest, Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka return to the front line. The attack failed to capitalize in Southampton’s box on Saturday despite a ton of possession and chances. Outside of Max Dowman, none of the starters looked threatening. Trossard and Saka have not set the net on fire recently, but neither have any of the other attackers. Here’s hoping they bring a spark with their experience on the big stage.
The inevitable story heading into Tuesday will be the return of Viktor Gyökeres. After a very public standoff with Sporting to force a move over the summer, it will be interesting to see the reception he gets. No matter the case, he’ll be motivated to perform against his former club.
Midfield: Rice, Zubimendi, Ødegaard
It’s been weeks since we have seen this season’s preferred midfield three play together, and the last two matches showed just how pivotal they are as a unit. Against City, the lack of a proper 10 meant they couldn’t successfully progress through the middle. Against Soton, Rice’s work rate and overall influence was sorely missed. On the whole, the Gunners just haven’t looked as stable without them playing together.
Martin Ødegaard’s return couldn’t have come at a better time. With Eberechi Eze out for the next two weeks minimum, he will need to shake off the rust and get back to pulling the strings. His performance on Saturday was one of the few bright spots on the day, but it was clear he was still working his way back to his best. Another 60 minutes will go a long way ahead of Saturday’s PL match at the Emirates.
Defense: Calafiori, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber
It’s been a tough two matches for the defense. Between injuries and poor performances, they haven’t looked close to the group that led the Gunners to 9 consecutive clean sheets back in October.
The fullbacks in particular have been a mixed bag. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White were alarmingly poor against Southampton, while Riccardo Calafiori came on and looked pretty much how you would imagine someone who played 120 minutes last week would. With Piero Hincapie out, he is the starter on Tuesday.
Gabriel and William Saliba will want to shake off Saturday’s performance. While they didn’t play together, they both were featured in an overall poor showing from the back line. As a tandem, they are world class, but even the best players make mistakes.
At the very least, Jurrien Timber should (hopefully) be back and ready to deliver. He looked positively spent before missing the Carabao Cup final. Even at 75%, he likely gives a better performance than Ben White at the moment.
Keeper: Raya
After two poor performances from Kepa, David Raya returns to the starting lineup, with fans eager to see him back between the sticks. His distribution and comfort playing with his feet will be a welcome return.
They say it’s not how you start, but how you finish. After 8 months of being the most consistent club in Europe, the wheels have wobbled. The noise outside the club has risen rapidly, with more and more questions being asked about Arsenal’s quality and mentality. The fact is that you don’t find yourselves where Arsenal are without being a quality side. It doesn’t feel that way at the moment, but we have seen them show their quality time and time again this season. Tuesday is pivotal for more than just their CL chances. Finding a result gets the bitter taste of two cup exits out of their mouths with up to 13 matches left and gets them back to what they have been so good at all season: finding results.
WHO: Arsenal at Sporting CP
WHAT: Champions League quarterfinals first leg
WHEN: Tuesday, April 7th, 3:00pm EST/12:oopm PST/8:00pm GMT
WHERE: Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
HOW TO WATCH: Streaming on the Paramount+ app
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