Mikel Arteta Reacts As Arsenal Reaches UCL Semi-final, to Face Lookman’s Atletico Madrid
- Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has shared his thoughts after his team reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final
- Sporting Lisbon held Arsenal to a goalless draw at the Emirates, but the Gunners progressed with a 1-0 aggregate scoreline
- The Premier League leaders will face Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the semi-final, while PSG will face Bayern Munich
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has shared his thoughts after his team progressed to the semi-final of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal played a 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium, but progressed on aggregate, having beaten their opponents away in Portugal.
Source: Getty Images
Kai Havertz’s late strike away at Sporting in the first leg on April 9, 2026, was the difference maker to push the Gunners to their second consecutive semi-final, as noted by TNT Sports.
The Gunners will face Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the semi-final after Diego Simeone’s side eliminated Barcelona with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.
Bayern Munich defeated Real Madrid 6-4 on aggregate and will face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Liverpool 4-0 over two legs.
Arteta reacts to Arsenal’s progress
Mikel Arteta was delighted with his team’s progress to the semi-final, especially doing it in consecutive seasons.
“Gratitude to them,I know the effort and commitment they put in. There’s a lot of work behind it. We’ve done something that has never been done in the history of our club so that tells you the difficulty of it,” he said as quoted by Hayters TV.
“We had to do it in a special way, missing a lot of important players. Especially happy for our supporters because they were right behind the team today and we’re going to have another two big nights.
Arteta admits that he praises his players specially because of the efforts they are putting in, particularly with the burdening football schedule, even though they need to improve
“I know what they are doing, these players. It’s why we are the only English team left in the competition. This league and this schedule takes the hell out of you and it’s very difficult to do what we’ve done,” he added.
“We are not perfect. We need to improve things for sure, we recognise that, but let’s value what these players have done because they deserve it.”
Source: Getty Images
Next for the Gunners is a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City in the league, a match which could decide their title ambitions.
A win means Arsenal are almost guaranteed the title, while a defeat means that the advantage will shift to City’s hands and will win the title if they win their remaining matches.
Arteta explains Arsenal's struggles
Legit.ng previously reported that Mikel Arteta explained Arsenal’s struggles to win the Premier League and Champions League after many years of trying.
The manager admitted that history does not favour them, and trying to do what has not been done before at the club takes an extra level of work to achieve.
Source: Legit.ng
