{"id":3012,"date":"2026-04-06T21:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T21:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=3012"},"modified":"2026-04-06T21:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T21:29:11","slug":"arsenals-best-possible-starting-xi-for-sporting-cp-clash-after-triple-injury-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=3012","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal&#8217;s best possible starting XI for Sporting CP clash after triple injury boost"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_e792fe\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Arsenal could be without several key first-team players when they travel to Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33722019\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mikel Arteta\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33722019.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2186458068.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33722019.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_GettyImages-2186458068.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33722019.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_GettyImages-2186458068.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33722019.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2186458068.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Mikel Arteta is looking to fire Arsenal into the Champions League semi-finals for the second consecutive season\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Mikel Arteta is looking to fire Arsenal into the Champions League semi-finals for the second consecutive season<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Arsenal travel to Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday on the back of a triple injury boost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were all able to train for the Gunners at London Colney on Monday lunchtime despite various recent fitness issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It&#8217;s great news for Mikel Arteta, who is desperate to get the club&#8217;s season back on track following two disappointing domestic cup defeats to Manchester City and Southampton, respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Still, the Spaniard is facing a potential headache in Portugal as there is a firm chance Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapie and Jurrien Timber will not be available.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">None of those four players were pictured in training on Monday despite rumours Eze is closing in on a swift recovery following a recent calf injury.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! <a aria-label=\"Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook pageLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AFCFootball.London#\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">On the basis of those that were present in training, Arteta best XI to face Sporting is as follows: David Raya starts between the sticks with Riccardo Calafiori at left-back, Gabriel and William Saliba at right-back and Ben White or Cristhian Mosquera at right-back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Given White has played a lot of football recently and also struggled, perhaps now is the time to hand Mosquera a start at right-back, a role he has played at various points this season most recently in the 2-0 win over Everton following Timber&#8217;s injury.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In midfield, Martin Zubimendi, Rice and Odegaard should start together for the first time since the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates in January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">On the right, Max Dowman is pushing for the nod over Noni Madueke but the England international should start after coming through Saturday&#8217;s defeat unscathed following a recent knee issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dowman is yet to start a game in either the Premier League or Champions League but has now started matches in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup as he continues to dazzle throughout his stunning breakthrough campaign.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-33713890\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33713890\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.42\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Max Dowman\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33713890.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Martin-Odegaard-Max-Dowman-and-Arsenal.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33713890.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_Martin-Odegaard-Max-Dowman-and-Arsenal.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33713890.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_Martin-Odegaard-Max-Dowman-and-Arsenal.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article33713890.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Martin-Odegaard-Max-Dowman-and-Arsenal.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Max Dowman is pushing to keep his spot in Arsenal's starting XI\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Max Dowman is pushing to keep his spot in Arsenal&#8217;s starting XI<cite aria-label=\"Image: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC via Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Leandro Trossard could replace Gabriel Martinelli on the left with Viktor Gyokeres leading the line against his former employers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Having reputable options from the bench could be crucial given Arsenal need to take a positive result back to London for next week&#8217;s second leg at the Emirates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Dowman, if he does not start, could all be exciting options in the second half, though the priority must be to stop Sporting from scoring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Primeira Liga outfit rattled in five goals against Bodo\/Glimt in the last 16 second leg after losing the first leg 3-0 in Norway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal could be without several key first-team players when they travel to Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday Mikel Arteta is looking to fire Arsenal into the Champions League semi-finals for the second consecutive season Arsenal travel to Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday on the back of a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}