It鈥檚 back-to-back semifinals for Arsenal.
A 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday saw Arsenal advance 1-0 on aggregate to set up a clash with of European club soccer鈥檚 top competition.
鈥淭o go back-to-back is an amazing achievement for this group,鈥� Declan Rice told TNT Sports. 鈥淲e want to now go one step further than last year and get to the final.鈥�
A Premier League and Champions League double remains possible for Mikel Arteta鈥檚 team, despite a slump in form in recent weeks.
Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s other second-leg quarterfinal to advance 6-4 on aggregate. The Germans face defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals.
Arsenal has never won the European Cup and only once reached the final. But it is now just two games away from this year鈥檚 showpiece in Budapest, Hungary.
Kai Havertz’s in the first leg of the quarterfinals in Portugal last week proved to be decisive as Sporting failed to find a breakthrough in London.
It is the fourth time Arsenal has advanced to the semifinals and the first time it has gone back-to-back having lost to eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain at that stage last season.
鈥淭o be part of those (final) four teams, it鈥檚 something very special,鈥� Arteta said. 鈥淚t comes down to making the last step. We are making the steps that haven鈥檛 been done in this club for 140 years, so players deserve credit for what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
The result was the perfect way for Arsenal to start a crucial week in which it also plays Premier League title rival Manchester City on Sunday.
There have been signs of the tension getting to Arteta’s players as the season enters the closing stages, having lost the English League Cup final against City and then crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of second-division Southampton.
Defeat at home in the league against Bournemouth last weekend only added to the sense that it was faltering at a critical time.
鈥淲ho cares what people think? All that matters is what this group thinks, what the manager thinks and we鈥檙e in another semifinal,鈥� Rice said. 鈥淏ring on the last few weeks. It鈥檚 a roller coaster, no one鈥檚 going to hand you anything in this game, so just keep going and, what will be will be.鈥�
It was another tight encounter between Arsenal and Sporting with chances rare.
Substitute Leandro Trossard came closest to winning it for Arsenal on the night by heading against the post late on. Geny Catamo had hit the woodwork for Sporting in the first half.
Arsenal and Atletico have already faced each other in the Champions League this season, with the English club winning 4-0 in the league phase.
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