Arteta urges Arsenal to ‘use that fuel’ after cup defeats

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Mikel Arteta has insisted Arsenal will not panic following their first successive defeats of the season, urging his players to analyze their recent losses and gain clarity from them ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Sporting.

The Gunners’ hopes of an unprecedented quadruple crumbled with defeats to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup. However, the Arsenal manager believes these setbacks can serve as motivation rather than a source of concern.

“Instead of panic, understand why it happened”

“I think what you have to do is be clear,” Arteta explained. “Instead of panic, understand if that happens, why it happened, and bring clarity. And when you analyse that and you accept that, you’ll be better. That’s it, and that’s the thing that we have to do.”

The Spanish coach has faced criticism for not fielding his strongest side against Southampton on Saturday, but asked for perspective after a season in which Arsenal became the first team to win all eight league stage matches in the Champions League.

Despite the recent setbacks, Arteta remains confident in his side’s ability to handle pressure situations. “I think when you have the opportunity that we have, that has to be taken through excitement, through preparing yourself in the best possible way, focusing on the present and on the things that we have to do,” he said.

Raya returns as keeper rotation ends

David Raya is set to return in goal against Sporting after Kepa Arrizabalaga was selected for the defeats against City and Southampton. The Spanish goalkeeper echoed his manager’s sentiments about using recent disappointments as motivation.

“Now that it’s gone, we just have to use that fuel, that pain that we had after the game to pick it up for the rest of the season,” Raya told The Guardian.

The north London side will be without Bukayo Saka and Jurriën Timber for the first leg in Lisbon, as both continue to struggle with injuries. However, Gabriel Magalhães, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are all expected to feature against the Portuguese champions.

Sporting confident despite Arsenal’s quality

This marks Arsenal’s third successive appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals, and they have positive memories from their last visit to this stadium, delivering a 5-1 thrashing in last season’s league stage. However, Sporting manager Rui Borges believes his side can capitalize on Arsenal’s recent struggles.

“They are a great team and great teams always want to win,” Borges said. “They will be more focused and more willing to show their collective and individual capacity so I think it will make things more difficult for us, the fact they lost the last two matches.”

Arsenal will look to channel their disappointment into a strong European performance as they seek to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time under Arteta.