LISBON, April 7 (Reuters) - Arsenal substitute Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win at Sporting in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
The Germany forward was found unmarked inside the box by Gabriel Martinelli before calmly slotting the ball past goalkeeper Rui Silva to settle a tactical encounter.
After a first half in which Sporting's Maxi Araujo and Arsenal's Noni Madueke struck the woodwork, the visitors had a Martin Zubimendi effort disallowed before David Raya produced several late saves to deny the home side.
The deadlock was finally broken in added time by Havertz, who replaced the injured Martin Odegaard in the 70th minute, to secure the advantage before the return legnext week.
"Beautiful and that's the impact you need when you get to this stage of the season. Everybody has to make an impact and they certainly did that tonight," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Amazon Prime regarding the winner.
"We had a goal disallowed and there were two or three occasions where we were close but we lacked that final pass. In the end a magic moment from the finishers wins us the game."
The winners of the tie face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who play at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, in the semis.
ARSENAL REDEMPTION
Arsenal arrived in Lisbon seeking to bounce back from Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final exit at second-tier Southampton, and will be delighted with the win but the sight of captain Odegaard limping off will concern Arteta.
The Norway midfielder appeared to struggle throughout the match, having recently returned from a long-term injury layoff.
The first half was a cagey affair, with the woodwork denying both sides an opening goal. Araujo came close for the hosts, seeing his powerful left-foot strike rebound off the post following a break into the box in the opening minutes.
However, Arsenal grew into the contest and nearly led through Madueke. The winger rose to meet an outswinging corner, but his header clipped the bar with Silva beaten.
Despite the near misses, both teams struggled to find a consistent rhythm, with the tie remaining finely balanced heading into the second half.
Arsenal thought they had the breakthrough shortly after the hour when Zubimendi curled the ball into the net at the near post, but it was ruled out after a VAR review found former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres to be offside in the build-up.
RAYA WINS PLAYER OF THE MATCH
With the hosts dominating the latter stages, Raya was forced into several crucial interventions, including a diving save to divert Geny Catamo's low header behind for a corner, with the Spaniard's performance earning the Player of the Match award.
"It's something that I'm there for. I'm trying to help the team as much as possible in any single action, not just defending but commanding and on the ball," Raya said.
The match seemed headed for a draw until a late lapse from the Sporting defence gave Havertz the space to control the ball and find a clinical finish to put Arsenal in the driving seat.
The result marks a return to winning ways for Arsenal following consecutive defeats, including their FA Cup exit and defeat by Manchester City in the League Cup final.
"We've come from two losses, learn from those moments, that pain when you lose a game" Raya added.
"Use that pain in the belly to go out there and express yourself, be yourself and try to be better every single day. That's the main message we have to send out there."
Premier League leaders Arsenal will try to keep up the momentum when they host Bournemouth on Saturday.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
