ARSENAL staggered into the Champions League semi-final last night (Wednesday) after successfully shutting out Sporting Lisbon.

The Gunners rode their luck at times, and were fortunate not to concede in a largely forgettable night at the Emirates.

Holding a 1-0 lead on aggregate thanks to Kai Havertz’s late goal in Portugal last week, Arsenal battled to a cagey goalless draw in front of their own fans to set up a date against Atletico Madrid.

Few supporters believe the side playing as they are at the moment can win the tournament and the atmosphere in the stadium is largely one of irritable anxiety.

But far from dwelling on any doom and gloom, Arteta was beaming with pride after guiding the Gunners to back-to-back Champions League semi- finals for the first time in the club’s history.

Facing the TV cameras after the match, the Arsenal boss said: “It’s a massive moment. To be part of those four teams [in the semi-finals] is great work.

“It’s a great night, and I’m very happy for all

our people. We are making steps that haven’t been done at this club for 140 years.”

Arsenal started well and the atmosphere was electric, but that lasted all of five minutes as the nerves crept in and the play became predictable.

Sporting played some tidy football and were cutting off Arsenal’s usual passing lanes, forcing their hosts into a string of mistakes.

It was the visitors who had the best chance in the opening 45 minutes when Geny Catamo struck the post on the brink of half-time.

The Gunners played patiently while trying to keep the pressure up. But their structure is so rigid that at times there was little meaningful forward movement.

Corners and free-kicks were easily defended with Arsenal seemingly no longer able to activate their go-to goal plan at set-pieces.

Eberechi Eze tried some flicks and spins but often the midfielder seemed to be playing without total focus.

And at the other end of the pitch, David Raya almost cost the Gunners a goal on more than one occasion with calamitous attempts to play out from the back.

But Arsenal managed to avoid another upset, albeit largely thanks to Sporting’s lack of ambition and the griding and suffocating approach to football.

Describing the mood in the home dressing room, Gabriel Martinelli, told TNT Sports: “Yeah, everyone is just buzzing. Two times in a row in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Everyone is happy.

“We’ve been playing well and we deserve that. When we play in the Champions League it is always tough.

There is not one single team that is not strong. We did well and we didn’t concede.

“We didn’t score as well but we take the draw and we are through.”

The first leg of the semi in Spain is on April 29.

Arsenal: Raya, Hincapié, Gabriel, Saliba, Mosquera, Rice, Zubimendi, Martinelli (Trossard 79), Eze (Jesus 79), Madueke (Dowman 63), Gyökeres (Havertz 56)
Subs not used: Kepa, Dudziak, Lewis-Skelly, Salmon, Setford, Nørgaard, White

Sporting: Silva, Quaresma (Vagiannidis 85), Diomande, Inácio, Araújo, Hjulmand, Morita (Simões 77), Catamo (Quenda 71), Trincão (Nel 85), Pote (Bragança 71), Suárez
Subs not used: Blopa, Mangas, Debast, Gonçalves, Kochorashvili