ARSENAL 0-0 SPORTING LISBON (Agg: 1-0): The Gunners made it into the last four of the Champions League on a nervous night at the Emirates, which finished goalless
Arsenal made it into the Champions League semi-finals as they got the better of Sporting Lisbon on a nervous night in north London - with their goalless draw good enough for the Gunners.
In a game starved of goalscoring opportunities the Premier League leaders were able to lean on their defence, which kept the clean sheet that they knew would set-up a semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
The Gunners bought a one-goal lead back with them from the Portuguese capital last week and set about pressing home their advantage early on, but couldn't make their dominance count.
Sporting grew into the game and screamed for a second-half penalty when Christian Mosquera pushed Maximiliano Araujo just yards from the Arsenal goal, but the referee waved away their appeals.
Sporting grew into the first-half having allowed the hosts to dominate possession and territory in the opening exchanges. Some of their chances owed to self-inflicted wounds from the Gunners, who gave the ball away whilst trying to play out.
The Portuguese side came closest when they saw a first-time effort from Geny Catamo cannon back off the post after Arsenal had given the ball away. The hosts themselves did little to properly worrying Rui Silva in the Sporting goal as the contest remained goalless at the break.
Sporting struggled to create the goalscoring chance they so desperately craved whilst Arsenal themselves, knowing a goalless draw was good enough for them, continued to manage the game without throwing men forward. Leandro Trossard appeared from the bench and saw a late header come off the post.
It was ultimately good enough for the Gunners, who can celebrate a second Champions League semi-final in succession. Here's five talking points from a nervous Emirates.
Calming the noise
All hell would surely have broken loose had Sporting made it four defeats in five for the Gunners. Arsenal's win in Portugal last week was their only win in recent weeks, but the narrative around their season capitulating has been front and centre since their loss to Bournemouth.
Making the last four of the Champions League is nothing to be sniffed at however and they remain the only Premier League representative. A defeat would've seen another trophy pass them by, and the blow would've been twice as painful given they were firm favourite to progress. They've justified that favoritism and got their season back on track, for now.
Atleti task
Any team that reaches the last four of the Champions League is always going to be a proper outfit. But rewind just sixth months and Arsenal were sticking four past Atletico at the Emirates.
It was an utterly dominant win and came at a time when Arsenal were in full swing. There's no doubt they've dropped off since that hammering, which saw Gabriel and Viktor Gyokeres among the goals. Atletico showed their classic blend of ruthlessness and dogged defensive quality to see off Barcelona, which is now mean feat, this week. Diego Simeone in a knockout game is never easy to negotiate, but Arsenal's recent exploits against the Spanish side should give them huge confidence.
Nerves still exist
For Arsenal the main objective was to ensure they didn't lose on Wednesday night. They pulled that off, but the manner of some of their play was that of a side that have not totally dealt with the nerves that inevitably come when you're trying to get over the line.
This is a group of players who are yet to take that final step with the club in the midst of a six-year trophy drought. Raya was caught out of possession at times and Arsenal were willing to soak up Sporting pressure at times. This is a game you feel Arsenal would've won in third gear several months ago. Now, everything carries that bit more weight, and you can see the players are aware of that.
Penalty let off
Sporting will almost certainly point the referee's decision on 65 minutes to keep his whistle by his side, despite being adamant that they should've had a penalty. The first goal was always going to be massive - either killing the tie or making it game on.
Araujo was looking to get on the end of a deflected shot, but before he could get there was shoved in the back by Christian Mosquera, who was the wrong side of his opponent. The official deemed that the contact wasn't enough for him to go down, which VAR agreed with. But its that classic case of 'anywhere else on the pitch' and that decision may well go in your favour.
Kai Arteta's guy
With the game goalless, and not even an hour old, Arteta made the call to withdraw Viktor Gyokeres and replace him with Kai Havertz. That is replacing an out and out striker with a deep lying one, which said a lot about what the Arsenal boss was trying to achieve in the final half hour or so.
Havertz has spent chunks of the season out injured, but when he was a regular in Arsenal's attack he was a stellar link man. With games becoming more and more cagey and Arsenal needing more control Havertz could be set for a massive role in the coming weeks.