Mikel Arteta kudos to the ‘finishers’ Gabriel Martinelli AND Kai Havertz for the arrival and awakening of the ‘magical’ moment to direct Arsenal to victory over Sporting.
The two sides appeared to be heading for a stalemate in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, 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 standout player throughout the 90 minutesproducing three excellent saves to keep the score level LisbonJose Alvalade Stadium.
But Arsenal blew chances in the final 20 minutes in search of a winner and the visitors were rewarded for their effort as Martinelli and Havertz combined to make the breakthrough in stoppage time.
Having caused problems from the bench, Martinelli cut inside with purpose before passing the ball to Havertz, who took a great touch, set himself up and coolly finished past Rui Silva.
The Gunners remained determined to maintain their narrow advantage in the dying moments, ensuring they took a 1-0 lead at the Emirates after a week.
After a difficult spell 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 Champions League against a team that hasn’t lost at home in I don’t know how long.
“I think that the last time was probably also in Europe, this shows its difficulty.
“In the end, a moment of magic from the finalists wins us the game. Beautiful and that’s the impact you need when you get to this stage of the season.
“Everyone has to make an impact and they certainly did tonight.”
After crediting Martinez and Havertz with changing the game from the bench, Arteta made sure to single out Raya in another ‘phenomenal’ and ‘outstanding’ performance between the sticks.
“He had two moments where he made two great saves,” the Arsenal coach said of his compatriot.
“This is the Champions League, the Champions League is always put in the box and because there is a lot of quality here.
“Right now he’s phenomenal and outstanding since he joined us. We’re very lucky to have him.”
Despite securing victory, the Arsenal manager did not hide the fact that his side had struggled to find rhythm in the final third.
“Yes, because when we got into the final third and sat there, we lost the last half,” Arteta replied when asked if he was worried his side might fail to find the back of the net.
“We had to be a little sharper, quicker, more efficient to break them when they had that block.
“We had a goal disallowed and there were two or three times we were close but we missed that final pass.”
In his post-match interview with Amazon Prime, Havertz claimed that ’80 per cent’ of his goal was down to Martinelli for his sharp play and accurate set-up assist.
“I was there to finish it,” explained the German striker, who came on for Martin Odegaard in the 70th minute.
“I, but it was a good assist from him, I saw it and he just played a perfect pass and it was a good goal.”
On Raya’s show, Havertz added: “He’s incredible.
“I still think people underestimate him in the world of football, but for the last two years, I don’t know, he’s probably been the best goalkeeper in the world and we’re all happy to have him here.”
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