Arsenal can secure their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League by avoiding defeat against Sporting CP on Wednesday night at the Emirates, and Mikel Arteta’s side now know who they will face at this stage of the competition if they manage this.
The Gunners take a slender one-goal lead into the second leg in North London, after narrowly beating the Portuguese giants in Lisbon last week. Kai Havertz calmly slotted beyond Rui Silva in the 91st minute of the game at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, securing an unconvincing victory for Arteta’s outfit.
Just over a month ago, Arsenal were deemed favourites to go all the way and win Europe’s elite club competition for the first time. However, after some poor recent results, Bayern Munich have now leapfrogged the North Londoners as the team fancied to become European champions, according to Kalshi Sports.
NEW: Bayern Munich is now the favorite to win the Champions League, via Kalshi.
— Kalshi Sports (@KalshiSports) April 13, 2026
32% — Bayern Munich
27% — Arsenal
22% — PSG
8% — Atletico
7% — Barcelona
6% — Real Madrid
2% — Liverpool
1% — Sporting Lisbon pic.twitter.com/AaaGwpvR9o
Arsenal’s possible Champions League semi-final opponents revealed
Arsenal have been rewarded for finishing top of the League Phase with a relatively favourable run to the semi-finals. The Gunners saw off Bayer Leverkusen over two legs in the round of 16, overcoming Kasper Hjulmand’s team 3-1 on aggregate.
The reward for this triumph was a two-legged tie against Sporting CP, who dramatically beat Bodo/Glimt 5-3 across two matches in the previous round. While this last eight match-up remains in the balance heading into the second leg, Arsenal are in a strong position to progress, given they do possess a lead.
Of course, Arteta’s men still have to do the job on Wednesday night, but they’ll fancy their chances. If they beat Sporting, it’s now been confirmed that they’ll face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.
Atletico earned their spot by beating Barcelona in the quarter-finals. After securing a shock 2-0 victory at the Camp Nou in the first leg, they chaotically saw it out in the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano. Despite losing 2-1 to the Catalan giants in the Spanish capital, they progressed on aggregate.
Diego Simeone’s outfit currently sit fourth in La Liga, 22 points behind leaders Barcelona, and thus, their hopes of winning the league are over. This means Simeone should be able to dedicate all attention to the Champions League, and they’ll be hopeful of reaching their first final since 2016.
Arsenal comfortably eased their way past Atletico in the League Phase, beating them 4-0 at the Emirates. Arteta will be confident that his side can replicate this in a possible semi-final.
Who can Arsenal face in the Champions League final?
Arsenal will already be dreaming of making their way to Budapest for their second-ever Champions League final. They’ll feel they can beat Sporting on Wednesday and then Atletico, and then it’ll merely be a matter of whether they can deal with whoever comes their way in the one-off match in Hungary.
There are three potential final opponents for Arsenal, one of whom have already secured their place in the semi-finals with an impressive last eight victory. They are the following:
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
One of Bayern or Real Madrid will be removed from this list, with the two set to meet in the second leg of their quarter-final tie at the Allianz Arena. The German giants take a 2-1 lead back to their home ground after emerging from the Bernabeu victorious last week.
As for PSG, the French champions comfortably saw off Liverpool in the last eight, beating the Premier League side 4-0 on aggregate.
Champions League fixture dates
The fixtures for the remainder of the Champions League have been mapped out for the schedule, with the dates coming thick and fast.
| Fixture round | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | 28/29 April | 5/6 May |
| Final | 30 May | – |
Arsenal will be extremely hopeful of making it all the way and landing silverware in late May.
