Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on his emotions: "Fire. I am on fire. That's it!

"Nothing else. I am so driven.

"I have done so much to be in this position because I know what this club is worth.

"Now, this is beauty. I just see beauty and opportunity. I want to get it done for all the people who have been on this journey with us, because they deserve it. They have been unbelievable.

"Now there is zero fear. It's purpose, fire, and conviction that we're going to do it."

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave a message to the home crowd: "No fear, pure fire. That's it.

"Pure fire is what I want to see from the players on the pitch. Go for it, because the opportunity is unbelievable.

"Let's confront it and go for it, putting absolutely everything into it."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on his side's mentality: "I repeat myself. We have overcome a lot of hurdles, and the team is doing something incredible.

"We want to take the next step, for sure. We have the ambition, we are there, and we are very close."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Saturday's defeat by Bournemouth and moving forward: "It was a big disappointment and a hard one to take, especially losing at home when we had the opportunity to make the gap bigger, bring more certainty, and go into this week in the best possible manner.

"What we are trying to achieve is difficult, challenging, and bumpy at times. You have to confront it, and what I said [to them] is that we're trying to do something that hasn't been done in the history of the club for years.

"It's the first time we've reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League three years in a row. We value where we are a lot. We have the opportunity tomorrow to reach the semi-final, and we are competing in the Premier League in a very strong position after 22 years without doing so.

"The beauty of it is that it's difficult and challenging."

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he wants the crowd and his team to have "no fear, pure fire".

He added this week is the "biggest opportunity" in six and a half years.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta started his press conference by giving an update on team news: "We have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how a few of the boys are, and then make the right decision with them."

On Declan Rice’s issue: "I don’t want to do that [tell you]. I will see how he is tomorrow, but he obviously wasn't available to train."

On Jurrien Timber or Bukayo Saka returning: "Maybe one of them, so let’s see."

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has arrived. He said they have to "wait and see" how Declan Rice is.

Maybe "one" of Bukayo Saka or Jurrien Timber will return.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal

There is still no sign of Eberechi Eze or Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal

Opta predictions have Arsenal with a 86.66% chance to win the Premier League title, with Man City at 13.34%.

Arsenal are the biggest favourites of all teams to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League according to the supercomputer, doing so in 88.4% of simulations.

They have a 34.03% of winning the competition for the first time in their history.

George Cummins
BBC Radio 5 live

We are awaiting Eberechi Eze and Mikel Arteta, who are due to speak to the waiting media at 13:30 BST.

The big news from the training ground is that Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Martin Odegaard, and Riccardo Calafiori weren't seen in open training this morning.

It doesn't mean they won't play tomorrow night but it is a huge blow if Rice is injured. Mikel Arteta always keeps team news close to his chest so it will be interesting to see what he says on those omissions.

Eze is also set to speak to the media after Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth. He came on as a sub in Saturday's defeat to the Cherries.

If Arsenal can win tomorrow night, they will make back-to-back Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history. And of course, it will be a huge boost ahead of Sunday's Premier League match with Man City.

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes it is "make or break" time for Mikel Arteta as there is mounting pressure for him to win major silverware this season.

Arsenal

Arsenal host Sporting on Wednesday, leading 1-0 from the first leg, with a victory sealing back-to-back semi-finals in the Champions League.

The Gunners have lost three of their past four games and were knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.

Reaching the semi-finals, where they will play Atletico Madrid or Barcelona, would be a needed boost after a poor run of form.

Premier League leaders Arsenal lost their last league game against Bournemouth and are now six points clear of Man City, who have a game in hand.

City host Arsenal on Sunday - a game that could have a massive say in who wins the title.

It is a massive week for Mikel Arteta's side.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport Arsenal reporter

Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time winner as Arsenal beat Sporting 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon.

The second-half substitute poked the ball past Rui Silva late on to give the Premier League leaders a narrow advantage.

The Gunners had plenty of possession in the first half but could not translate that into clear-cut chances. The closest they came to scoring was when Noni Madueke hit the crossbar direct from a corner.

Sporting continually threatened with fast counter-attacks and almost punished the Gunners when Araujo made another burst forward and cut the ball back to Francisco Trincao, who pulled his shot wide.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport Arsenal reporter

Five of Arsenal's key players were missing from the open part of training before the Gunners quarter-final second-leg match against Sporting in the Champions League.

Arsenal have a 1-0 advantage from the first leg but have a number of injury issues in the squad.

Declan Rice, who played 90 minutes of Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend, was not seen in the first 15 minutes of the training session that was open to the media.

Captain Martin Odegaard missed the game as did Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori - and all four were also missing from open training.

This is a pivotal week for Arsenal in the season with the chance to reach the last four of the Champions League before a huge match against title rivals Manchester City on Sunday.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will speak to the media shortly (13:30 BST) before his side's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting.

Expect fitness on updates on Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard.

There should also be questions around the vital dropped points in the Premier League against Bournemouth, opening the door for Man City.

Eberechi Eze will also be speaking to the media.

Image source, Getty Images

Thanks for joining us!

We will be back at 13:00 BST to build up to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal news conference.

See you then.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Hair-pulling is very much a VAR offence, as it often happens off the ball or in a referee's blind spot.

But with video review, you are going to be lucky to get away with these dark arts.

The issue came to the fore in August 2022 when the VAR, Mike Dean, failed to send referee Anthony Taylor to the monitor after Tottenham's Cristian Romero pulled the hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella.

Since then there have been two other such dismissals:

• Southampton’s Jack Stephens on Cucurella, December 2024
• Everton's Michael Keane on Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare, January 2026

Players in the EFL have faced retrospective bans after video review this season, too, including Huddersfield's Alfie May and Ipswich's Leif Davis.

But it still comes down to the burden of evidence.

In February, Fulham’s Kenny Tete could have been sent off for pulling the hair of Man City's Antoine Semenyo.

The camera angles were inconclusive. While Tete probably did tug Semenyo's hair, there was no image of it being in his grasp - like with Stephens, Keane and Martinez. That is not enough for a VAR review.

In January 2025, the VAR recommended that Bournemouth's David Brooks should be sent off for pulling Cucurella's hair.

This time the referee rejected the review at the monitor, saying he could see no proof. The only replays were from long-distance camera angles.

Leeds United

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke spoke to Sky Sports after his side's win: "Tired. Relieved. Proud of the boys. Fantastic performance. We are in the crunch time of the season and it's important to keep your nerves and stick to your plan."