They are still well placed to finish the Premier League season top of the pile, but will be keen to add the Champions League to their trophy cabinet. They must first arrest their losing run, though, and Sporting will provide firm opposition.
The Portuguese champions have just one loss in their last 16 matches, and trounced Bodo/Glimt in the round of 16 to reach this stage of the competition.
The match will see Viktor Gyokeres return to his former club for the first time, too, just nine months after he acrimoniously engineered a move to Arsenal last summer.
Here is everything you need to know about the match…
Date, kick-off time and venue
Sporting vs Arsenal is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
The match will take place at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.
Where to watch Sporting vs Arsenal
Live stream: The match will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video, with coverage starting at 6.30pm BST ahead of an 8pm kick-off.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Matt Verri.
Sporting vs Arsenal team news
Arsenal’s faltering form is down in no small part to the number of injuries in the squad. Gabriel is the latest addition to the injury list after he came off with an apparent knee injury against Southampton.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were all left out of the squad to face the Saints but are expected to return here, while Jurrien Timber is pushing to be involved.
Adding to Arteta’s attacking headaches is the absence of Noni Madueke, who also missed the trip to the south coast but may return in Portugal.
Piero Hincapie and Eberechi Eze will both miss this match, as will Mikel Merino, who underwent surgery on a foot injury in February.
Sporting’s physios, meanwhile, have a relatively light load. Geovany Quenda, who will join Chelsea this summer, is out with an injury, as is ex-West Ham winger Luis Guilherme. Giorgi Kochorashvili and Ricardo Mangas complete the absentee list.
Midfielder Morten Hjulmand, who has Arsenal’s crest tattooed on his left shoulder, is suspended for the first-leg.
Sporting vs Arsenal prediction
Arsenal require nothing less than a win in this match if they are to shake off the funk hanging over the club, but they will have their work cut out for them.
Sporting have scored a remarkable 14 goals in their last three matches, shipping only three in that time, and have a great chance to continue that run against Arsenal.
With the added motivation of getting their own back against Gyokeres, who so controversially departed to join Arsenal last summer, they will be perfectly confident of leading into the second-leg.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Arsenal visited Sporting in the league phase of this competition last season, coming away with a decisive 5-1 win. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were among the names on the scoresheet that night, while Gyokeres started up top for the Portuguese contingent.
Viktor Gyokeres was on the losing side when Arsenal last faced Sporting
Getty Images
Sporting vs Arsenal match odds
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
