Kai Havertz’s 91st-minute winner snatched Arsenal a victory in Lisbon on Tuesday night, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a lead to take back to the Emirates for next week’s second leg.
The Gunners dominated possession and territory throughout at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, although they found it difficult to fashion clear-cut opportunities. That was until Havertz’s late dart into the box was picked out by a stunning clipped pass from Gabriel Martinelli, before the German cooly slotted beyond Sporting CP’s goalkeeper Rui Silva.
David Raya’s heroics have grabbed the headlines in the aftermath of the Champions League showdown, while William Saliba’s performance hasn’t gone unnoticed. However, a more understated aspect of the game has been revealed, which will concern the likes of Bukayo Saka and Max Dowman moving forward.
Sporting defender makes Champions League history vs Arsenal
Sporting set out to disrupt Arsenal’s flow and rhythm, and this deliberate ploy certainly worked to an extent. The Gunners’ smooth build-up patterns were interrupted by relentless rotational fouling from Rui Borges’ side, and the referee did little to quell this.
In fact, the German official, Daniel Siebert, essentially encouraged Sporting to keep committing these offences by not handing out cards. The home side committed eleven fouls on the night, and only Hidemasa Morita was shown a booking.
The most egregious case was left-back Maximiliano Araujo. The Uruguayan made Champions League history on Tuesday night, becoming the first defender in the last nine seasons of the competition to commit seven or more fouls and avoid receiving a yellow card.
🤷 | Getting away with it is an art
— Sofascore Football (@Sofascore) April 7, 2026
Maximiliano Araújo has tonight become the first defender to commit 7+ fouls and avoid receiving a yellow card in a #UCL match over the last nine seasons 🤯
You can't say he didn't have a plan for keeping Noni Madueke and Max Dowman at bay 😅 pic.twitter.com/BAFyJ6wuxd
Pitted against Arsenal’s two best one-on-one threats in Noni Madueke and then Dowman, the full-back clearly had a plan to deal with the two wide forwards, and he got away with it. Consistently bringing Madueke and Dowman down with cynical, and often bordering on reckless, fouls, he was extremely fortunate to avoid a card.
Had he been reprimanded for his actions, Arsenal could have exploited this side more emphatically.
Araujo’s card avoidance is worrying for Arsenal stars
In the Premier League, it’s generally accepted that a player will be shown a yellow card if he accumulates multiple fouls, even if they are soft or involve minimal contact. This generally prevents defenders committing multiple offences in the same game.
In Europe, on the basis of last night and in previous Champions League games Arsenal have taken part in, there appears to be more leniency. Siebert is an experienced and revered referee, yet he didn’t opt to caution Aruajo despite a pile up of offences.
| Madueke vs Sporting | Dowman vs Sporting | |
| Fouls Drawn | 3 | 3 |
This spells bad news for Arsenal’s primary dribblers in Saka and Dowman, who rely on their ability to beat a man to create chances. If referees in Europe aren’t going to protect them by showing bookings to their opposing full-backs, then they’re going to find it more difficult to impact games, while they’re also going to be more susceptible to injury.
Saka has suffered from this throughout his career to date, particularly in European matches, while Dowman will have to learn to deal with this cynicism. The 16-year-old was fouled three times in his 14-minute cameo in Lisbon.
