Champions League burning questions: Can Arsenal fire up their attack? Will Barcelona come back?

Many questions will be answered during the UCL quarterfinal second legs, and here are the most pressing

James Benge

Apr 13, 2026

3:11 pm ET

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11 min read

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For the best teams in Europe, there are just four Champions League games standing between them and glory. No surprise then that at this point so many seasons seem to stand on a knife-edge. Liverpool's last chance of silverware this season will require them overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against holders Paris Saint-Germain, a task that would surely be beyond Arne Slot's men if they play anything like they did in the first leg.

Barcelona must deal with a similar scoreline against them and yet there seems reason for them to hope that they can do it against Atletico Madrid, much as Real Madrid will still be clinging onto hope that they can overturn their 2-1 deficit to Bayern Munich. It is not with any of the trailing teams that we start, however, but a team whose one-goal lead against Sporting is a rare flash of light amid gloomy clouds. Are Arsenal at risk of seeing their season go off the rails?

1. Can Arsenal's attack fire at last?

They might be favorites to win both the Premier League and Champions League but it is hard to shake the sense that for the next week, Arsenal's season will teeter on a precipice. Almost everything that happens against Sporting CP on Wednesday night will be seen through the lens of Sunday's trip to Manchester City and rightly so. The pursuit of a first league title in 22 years is the great project of Mikel Arteta's tenure. If it doesn't happen this year, when their rivals have been so off the pace, it is fair to ask if it will ever happen under this manager.

The wobble is upon them, and in results terms, it looks profound. Cup campaigns were ended by Manchester City and Southampton but the cruellest blow yet came in Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth. Coupled with a win for City the following day, it feels like familiar failings are being magnified in the most pivotal moments. Above all, Arsenal are faltering because of their anaemic attack from open play.

Now, of course, the Gunners remain a force with dead balls and created two excellent chances for Kai Havertz from corners against Bournemouth. There is nothing wrong with Arteta's professed disappointment last month that his team aren't scoring more from set pieces. In a Premier League where physical defenses can cover more space than ever before, it helps to have a weapon that can smash a game open. However if Arsenal are to be "the best and most dominant team in every aspect of the game," then they cannot go on the 10-game run without registering an expected goal from open play that they find themselves in the midst of.

Much of the criticism of that has fallen at the back of the pitch and understandably so. Arsenal's inability to play through a four-man press was uncovered by Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final and no less ruthlessly exposed by Bournemouth on Saturday. Martin Zubimendi was never a volume ball progressor a la Rodri, Granit Xhaka or Martin Odegaard. As he approaches the 4000-minute mark for the season the 27-year-old looks exhausted. The dynamic ball-carrying Declan Rice of the first half of the season has gone the way of Shergar.

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It should be noted at this juncture that Arsenal's task is no easier without some of their most important players. No one is more effective than Odegaard at getting the ball up the pitch but he has barely cracked 1500 minutes in an injury-ravaged season. Bukayo Saka may not rank highly in terms of moving the ball upfield but there is no one who comes close to him when it comes to receiving progressive passes. He averages 10.7 such receptions per 90 minutes. Leandro Trossard is the only one of his teammates to crack eight.

The best solution to Arsenal's attacking difficulties from open play and dead balls is to get Odegaard and Saka back on the pitch. They don't become an elite attack with them, especially given neither has been the best version of themselves this season, but these two are still by far and away the best route for this team to get the ball into dangerous areas and keep it there. Note, for instance, how this team's attacking third touches have trended downwards in a particularly pronounced fashion since late 2024, when injury issues for first Odegaard and then Saka reared their heads.

A 10 game rolling average of attacking third touches per game by Arsenal in the Premier League

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Of course, it is not a given that Arteta will be able to call on either of them against Sporting or Manchester City. If that is indeed the case, then there are still things that can be done to not hamstring this team even further as an attacking force. It is not clear that the manager is doing them.

Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres, for instance, do not make a balanced atta