Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time winner as Arsenal beat Sporting 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon.
The second-half substitute poked the ball past Rui Silva late on to give the Premier League leaders a narrow advantage going into next week’s second leg at Emirates Stadium.
The pressure was on Arsenal coming into this match after they suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.
And that tension was nearly increased further when Sporting left-back Maxi Araujo crashed a shot against the Arsenal crossbar early on after a superb through ball from Ousmane Diomande.
The Gunners had plenty of possession in the first half but could not translate that into clear-cut chances. The closest they came to scoring was when Noni Madueke hit the crossbar direct from a corner.
Sporting continually threatened with fast counter-attacks and almost punished the Gunners when Araujo made another burst forward and cut the ball back to Francisco Trincao, who pulled his shot wide.
Martin Zubimendi thought he had given Arsenal a second-half lead when he curled in from the edge of the box, but the strike was ruled out as former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres was offside in the build-up.
The hosts piled on the pressure in the latter stages and David Raya made three good saves to keep the scores level, before Havertz snatched the win for the Gunners.
The victory is Arsenal’s first in three matches and gives Mikel Arteta’s side a boost as they return to Premier League action against Bournemouth at the weekend.
