Who Arsenal will face in Champions League semi-finals as opponents confirmed | OneFootball

Gunners still hope for major trophy double after reaching last four for second season in a row

Arsenal are through to the Champions League semi-finals for the second successive season after beating Sporting CP.

Arsenal won 1-0 away in Lisbon last week after substitute Kai Havertz came off the bench to net a dramatic 91st-minute winner at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

That proved to be the only goal across both ties as a goalless draw in the second leg was enough to seal progression for the Gunners who remain the only unbeaten team in this season’s Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on aggregate in the last 16, having topped the league phase table with a 100 per cent record after seeing off all of Kairat, Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Bayern Munich, Slavia Prague, Atletico Madrid, Olympiacos and Athletic Club.

Arsenal also reached the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League, when they were defeated 3-1 on aggregate by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Their only final appearance to date was in 2005/06, when they lost 2-1 to Barcelona in Paris.

Arteta will hope the Champions League can still form part of a memorable trophy double this season after his team lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City and were then ousted from the FA Cup in a quarter-final shock against Southampton to end their quadruple and treble dreams.

Arsenal have a six-point lead at the Premier League summit with six games left to play this term after being stunned at home by Bournemouth last time out and face a crunch trip on Sunday to title rivals City - who have a game in hand.

Who will Arsenal play in Champions League semi-finals?

With the Champions League draw process for the season having been completed ahead of the last 16, Arsenal went into the second leg against Sporting already knowing who would be awaiting next if they won the tie.

That is because their next opponents were in action on Tuesday night, with the Gunners or Sporting mapped to face the winners of the high-profile all-LaLiga showdown between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Atletico came through against their domestic rivals despite a second-leg wobble that saw them lose 2-1 at home at the Metropolitano Stadium, with Ademola Lookman’s first-half goal proving crucial following an early double by Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres. Barca’s Eric Garcia was sent off late on.

Atletico have only beaten Arsenal once before - in the 2017/18 Europa League semi-finals

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Diego Simeone’s men will be looking to reach a first Champions League final since 2016, when they lost their second in three years to rivals Real Madrid.

Arsenal will take confidence from having brushed Atletico aside 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium during the league phase back in October, scoring all four goals inside 14 second-half minutes - two from Viktor Gyokeres and one each from Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli.

Their only previous meetings were in the 2017/18 Europa League semi-finals, when Arsenal drew 1-1 at home before losing 1-0 away during Arsene Wenger’s final season in charge.

Arsenal will be away in the first leg against Atletico, with an 8pm BST kick-off scheduled on Wednesday, April 29. The return fixture at the Emirates will be at the same time on Tuesday, May 5. The final is at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.