Updated 08:04, 07 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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\nMartin Zubimendi and Declan Rice could both start for Arsenal against Sporting CP(Image: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/p>\n
Arsenal take on Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon. The Gunners will be aiming to reach back-to-back semi-finals in the competition for the first time in their history.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta has welcomed back some of his key players to the squad after the international break proved a challenging fortnight for some. Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard have returned to training, while Gabriel Magalhaes also trained despite coming off against Southampton.<\/p>\n
Yet there remain some key players missing, including Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber. Viktor Gyokeres returns to face his former club, having left in contentious circumstances less than a year ago.<\/p>\n
Here is who football.london<\/strong> predicts will start:<\/p>\nDavid Raya<\/strong><\/p>\nAfter two games of watching his number two start and concede four times in two games, exiting two competitions, the number one will be chomping at the bit.<\/p>\n
Ben White<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Arsenal full-back could very well start his third game for club and country in the space of the week and will need to be at his best after his mistake in the FA Cup.<\/p>\n
William Saliba<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Frenchman has been suffering with a niggle during the break, but returns to start here.<\/p>\n
Cristhian Mosquera<\/strong><\/p>\nDespite Gabriel making the trip after his knee issue at Southampton, Arteta might choose not to take a risk and start Mosquera instead.<\/p>\n
Riccardo Calafiori<\/strong><\/p>\nThere is a sense that the Italian might be a big presence this run-in and bring the creativity needed to the left-hand side.<\/p>\n
Martin Zubimendi<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Spaniard has to find some rhythm in this run-in and will be asked to start plenty of games between now and May.<\/p>\n
Declan Rice<\/strong><\/p>\nThe England international returns to the fold after having a well-earned rest and withdrawing from the international squad.<\/p>\n
Martin Odegaard<\/strong><\/p>\nA good showing at Southampton despite the result, and now he continues to build up his fitness as the skipper finds his feet after a spell out with injury.<\/p>\n
You Maduek<\/strong><\/p>\nWith Bukayo Saka not expected to have recovered yet to be involved, Noni Madueke is the next in line to start.<\/p>\n
Viktor Gyokeres<\/strong><\/p>\nBack at his old club, the striker can expect a hostile atmosphere, many predict, despite the claims from head coach Rui Borges that it will not be the case.<\/p>\n
Leandro Trossard<\/strong><\/p>\nAlso, training after the international break, the Belgian returns to the team after a bit of a meagre display from Martinelli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The predicted Arsenal team to start against Sporting CP in the Champions League on Tuesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}