At a Glance:
- Arsenal host Sporting CP in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
- Sporting are set to be without three key players for the clash in N5.
Arsenal host Sporting CP in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday night, and the Portuguese giants will head into this clash without several key players.
The Gunners snatched a win in the first leg at the Jose Alvalade Stadium last week, courtesy of a late Kai Havertz goal. However, the mood music around N5 has since turned sour, as Mikel Arteta’s side were beaten by Bournemouth at the weekend, denting their hopes of winning the Premier League title.
They are in desperate need of a result that reenergises the Emirates crowd, and the visit of Sporting is the perfect opportunity for them to attain this. While Rui Borges’ outfit were resolute in the first leg in Lisbon, they head to North London with a depleted squad, and this will likely hinder them significantly.
Sporting without five key players for Arsenal clash
While Arsenal could be without the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Jurrien Timber for the second leg in Islington, Sporting have several of their own absentees they will have to cope without.
26-year-old striker Fotis Ioannidis, who has scored six goals in 22 matches this season, will miss the return game at the Emirates due to injury. The Greece international hasn’t featured since late February, and isn’t expected to be back in time for the Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Meanwhile, left-winger Nuno Santos won’t feature in the game against Arsenal as he fights his way back from a hamstring injury. The talented Portuguese forward has been marred by injury issues in recent seasons, and this has seen his prominence in the Sporting first team decline significantly.
Elsewhere, former West Ham United star Luis Guilherme won’t make the trip to the English capital this week. The Brazilian is recovering from a strain injury, which has ruled him out of action for almost a month already.
Kasper Hjulmand available for Sporting against Arsenal
While these aforementioned absences are significant for Sporting, they aren’t as detrimental to Borges’ side as the lack of Morten Hjulmand was for them last week. The Dane was shown a red card in the second leg of the Lisbon team’s last 16 tie against Bodo/Glimt, with this dismissal ruling him out of the first leg against Arsenal through suspension.
However, the self-proclaimed Gunners supporter will return for the second leg. This will prove to be a significant boost for Sporting, as Hjulmand runs the show for Borges’ team in the middle of the park.
💚 A raça de quem carrega não só o Leão no peito, mas também no braço ©️ Morten Hjulmand! pic.twitter.com/W02otH8aOx
— Sporting CP (@SportingCP) March 18, 2026
Not only is the 26-year-old their captain, but he’s also pivotal to the build-up patterns, as well as their ability to prevent the opposition from playing through them. His rangy defensive work and expansive passing helps Sporting control matches, and without him, they are significantly worse.
He’ll travel to North London hoping to scupper his boyhood club’s Champions League dreams.
