Arsenal have crafted their way to the Premier League top spot and Champions League quarter-finals with defensive control and tactical discipline, but Mikel Arteta's impact substitutions cannot be underestimated.
Substitutes Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz combined in stoppage-time to snatch Arsenal a 1-0 advantage heading into their Champions League quarter-final second leg at Emirates Stadium, while also inflicting Sporting’s first home defeat in 17 matches.
Here's how Arteta's finishers have become Arsenal's strength this season:
- Arsenal's substitutes have contributed 38 goal involvements (24 goals, 14 assists) in all competitions this season – more than any other side in Europe's top five leagues.
- This is the eighth time an Arsenal substitute has scored in the Champions League this season, a record only bettered by Paris St-Germain.
- It is the fourth time Arsenal's substitutes have combined to assist and score in the Champions League this season – the most times by any team in a single season of the competition.
"In the end, a magic moment from the finishers won us the game," Arteta told Amazon Prime after the win. "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."
