{"id":3491,"date":"2026-04-08T03:43:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=3491"},"modified":"2026-04-08T03:43:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T03:43:55","slug":"mikel-arteta-told-to-make-arsenal-change-as-gunners-star-singled-out-after-sporting-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=3491","title":{"rendered":"Mikel Arteta told to make Arsenal change as Gunners star singled out after Sporting win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_09e96c\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Kai Havertz came off the bench to score Arsenal&#8217;s late winner at Sporting Lisbon and Theo Walcott insists the Gunners are far better when the German is starting<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\" data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\">22:43, 07 Apr 2026<\/span><span class=\"ArticleTimestamp_updated-date__7qD4Q ArticleTimestamp_updated-date-with-published__iFKpF\" data-testid=\"byline-updatedDate\">Updated 22:43, 07 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\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=\"36981823\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kai Havertz came up with a vital late winner at Sporting Lisbon\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981823.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2270277394.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981823.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_GettyImages-2270277394.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981823.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_GettyImages-2270277394.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981823.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2270277394.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Kai Havertz came up with a vital late winner at Sporting Lisbon\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Kai Havertz came up with a vital late winner at Sporting Lisbon<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Theo Walcott is adamant that Arsenal are &#8220;always a better team when Kai Havertz is in it&#8221; after the German landed a late winner to down Sporting Lisbon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Gunners produced the perfect response to their domestic setbacks by beating the Portuguese outfit on the road. Arsenal became the first time to win at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Europe this season, owing to the German&#8217;s late goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Havertz had begun the night on the bench but combined with another substitute in Gabriel Martinelli to put Arsenal in the driving seat ahead of next week&#8217;s second-leg. The ex-Chelsea man had been out injured earlier this season and is still looking to re-establish himself as a starter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He has previously been used as the focal point of the attack, but that is no longer the case with Arsenal boasting a No 9 in Viktor Gyokeres. It leaves Havertz still seeking a natural home in the starting XI.<\/p>\n<article class=\"Teaser_teaser__XImzE OpinionTeaser_teaser-opinion__u0ZfS\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36981696\">\n<div class=\"Teaser_cover-wrapper__VVV7O\" data-testid=\"opinion-teaser-image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981767.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s540\/0_GettyImages-2270277491jpgbr.jpg 540w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981767.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/0_GettyImages-2270277491jpgbr.jpg 650w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981767.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s948\/0_GettyImages-2270277491jpgbr.jpg 948w\" media=\"undefined\" data-testid=\"source-element\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981767.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s650\/0_GettyImages-2270277491jpgbr.jpg\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><label data-testid=\"label\" class=\"Label_label__pFaDj Label_secondary__nOPjT label--section-color\"><span data-testid=\"label-text\" class=\"Label_text__tRLWj\">OPINION<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"OpinionTeaser_content-wrapper__TVVPL OpinionTeaser_large__m6_Lk\">\n<div data-testid=\"teaser-author\" class=\"TeaserAuthor_author__h_bIR TeaserAuthor_large__QjYde\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article2206564.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s338a\/john_cross.png\" alt=\"Author avatar\"\/><span class=\"TeaserAuthor_author-name__YmKL2\">John Cross<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_4f362a\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\">Kai Havertz strikes late as Arsenal steal victory vs Sporting Lisbon &#8211; 5 talking points<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But Walcott insists that Arsenal look better when they find a spot for the German. He said on <a aria-label=\"Amazon Prime VideoLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/gp\/video\/storefront\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon Prime Video<\/a>: &#8220;He&#8217;s had a few injuries so I&#8217;m really pleased for him, but I always feel like they&#8217;re a better team when he&#8217;s in it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Havertz scored for just the fourth time this season but, despite lapping up some of the plaudits, maintained that it was the Arsenal goalkeeper who deserved huge praise. David Raya made several big saves to keep the game goalless until stoppage time, including one in the first-half, with the German citing him as the world&#8217;s best.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The match winner said on the Spanish shot stopper: &#8220;Unbelievable. I think still underestimated in the world of football but for me, the last two seasons, the best keeper in the world. He&#8217;s outstanding, he&#8217;s saved us so many times and we&#8217;re very glad to have him.&#8221;<\/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-36981827\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36981827\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Arsenal produced a timely win to make them firm favourites to make the semi-finals\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981827.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2269702876.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981827.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_GettyImages-2269702876.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981827.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_GettyImages-2269702876.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36981827.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2269702876.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Arsenal produced a timely win to make them firm favourites to make the semi-finals\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Arsenal produced a timely win to make them firm favourites to make the semi-finals<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Arsenal&#8217;s win was timely given losses in the Carabao Cup final and then the FA Cup quarter-finals and Havertz maintains that top honours are firmly in their sights with Mikel Arteta&#8217;s outfit eyeing the Premier League and glory in Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He said: &#8220;Definitely a big turnaround for us because we lost the last two matches. So we wanted to get a turnaround today and we made that happened. We stick together as a group, we have so much more to come this season. Seven weeks to go, we can win big titles and we&#8217;re going to go for that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/Feq1SEG6mXDIZGTTnek7oz\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\"><em>Join our new WhatsApp community<\/em> <\/a>and receive your daily dose of <em>Mirror<\/em> <em>Football<\/em> content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don&#8217;t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you&#8217;re curious, you can read our <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reachplc.com\/site-services\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\"><em>Privacy Notice.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kai Havertz came off the bench to score Arsenal&#8217;s late winner at Sporting Lisbon and Theo Walcott insists the Gunners are far better when the German is starting 22:43, 07 Apr 2026Updated 22:43, 07 Apr 2026 Kai Havertz came up with a vital late winner at Sporting Lisbon Theo Walcott is adamant that Arsenal are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3491","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\/3491","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=3491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}