Arteta expecting changes from Sporting for Arsenal 2nd leg

Arteta expecting changes from Sporting for Arsenal 2nd leg

Mikel Arteta is expecting a tough match against Sporting CP on Wednesday, believing that they’ll approach the game in a different way after their first-leg defeat.

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Arsenal hold a slender advantage going into Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP, having won 1-0 away from home in Lisbon last Tuesday.

The hope is that the team will be able to get over the line in front of the home support at the Emirates Stadium, but Sporting have already come from 3-0 down to progress in the previous round. They’ll want to believe they can do the same again this midweek.

Speaking about the first leg and how Sporting might now approach the return fixture, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta suggested he’s expecting changes from last week’s performance.

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“No surprises (last week), it’s obviously the understanding of the quality that they have and the different ways that they have to hurt you and they are a really, really good side,” Arteta said.

“We knew that, they proved that in the first leg, and that’s why we know that tomorrow it’s going to be a really tough match.

“I think they’re always trying to be a team that is very, very dominant, through the press, with the ball. The longer that the game goes in relation to the context of the game, they can approach and alter that like they’ve done in the league.

“Regarding the [first-leg] result, they will modify that [gameplan], and we are ready for that as well. We will apply what is necessary to win the game.”

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Arsenal obviously only need a draw in 90 minutes to progress to the semi-finals, but it would certainly help if the team could indeed “win the game” as well as the tie.

With a vital match against Manchester City on Sunday, the Gunners really don’t want to be going all out for 90 minutes, let alone for 120 if Sporting can send the game to extra time.

The ideal scenario is that the team kill the tie in the first half, cruise through the second with some substitutions and start thinking about that trip to the Etihad Stadium. Whether that’s realistic is another matter.