Champions League: Wounded Arsenal faces Sporting Lisbon after back-to-back defeats

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Arsenal faces Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday after seeing its quadruple hunt cut in half.

Back-to-back defeats in the League Cup final and FA Cup quarterfinals have left Mikel Arteta's team chasing a double of the Premier League and Champions League.

They were always the priorities, but the danger for Arsenal is that the slump continues.

Arteta says the questions about his team are to be expected, despite it still leading the Premier League by nine points and having won all but one of its games in the Champions League this season.

“It’s been like this for the last nine months and that’s going to continue, that’s never going to change when you play at this level for this club,” he said ahead of the match at Estadio Jose Alvalade. “There’s always going to be a question mark and that’s it. You have to live the present, you have to deliver it every day.”

Arteta said Arsenal would be without the injured Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber, but Declan Rice and Gabriel are available.

Sporting has never been beyond the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

“We want to make our dreams reality and continue to make history for this great club," coach Rui Borges said.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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