‘Arsenal, when boredom returns’: L’Equipe destroy Gunners as greatest slam reserved for fans

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·16 April 2026

‘Arsenal, when boredom returns’: L’Equipe destroy Gunners as greatest slam reserved for fans

We can always rely on L’Equipe to deliver the most brutal assessments and they didn’t disappoint in their analysis of Arsenal’s “toothless and boring” display against Sporting on Wednesday.

Arsenal saw out a goalless draw at the Emirates to confirm their place in the Champions League semi-finals, where they will meet Atletico Madrid, after Kai Havertz’s late goal in the first leg secured a 1-0 aggregate win.

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And under the headline ‘Empty seats and absolute silence to celebrate qualification for the Champions League semi-finals: Arsenal, when boredom returns’, French publication L’Equipe ripped into Mikel Arteta’s side.

‘Arsenal qualified for the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday against Sporting (0-0, 1-0 on aggregate) while offering almost nothing. The Gunners are in the final four for the second consecutive season, but they have become toothless and boring. ‘The last English team in the Champions League is shaky and lacking fire at the moment, waiting for set pieces out of calculation and helplessness, since it no longer knows how to create much else, and it looks like a huge opportunity for Antoine Griezmann to return to the final just before leaving Atletico de Madrid. ‘Like last season, Arsenal are in the semi-finals, but the fever that accompanied it then never crossed the Emirates, numb with boredom and worry, which offered them an absolute and disapproving silence at half-time, and the spectacle of thousands of empty seats when the time came to celebrate qualification.’

We accept that there were a few empty seats as some Gooners – like fans of any club – looked to beat the exit rush, but the Emirates was a long way from silent. If anything they made more noise than the performance merited.

The analysis of the players’ performance is entirely valid however, with this game just the latest unconvincing performance from Arteta’s side in a long list of them on the back of Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, the FA Cup exit at the hands of Southampton and the Premier League loss to Bournemouth on Saturday.

They will have to be a whole lot better against Manchester City in what is being dubbed a title decider on Sunday after club legend Thierry Henry laughed at their chances of getting result against Pep Guardiola’s side on current form.