Arsenal
Inside Arsenal’s Unconventional Training: Balls, Pens and a Focus on Group Work
Arteta had players balance a ball between foreheads and balance pens while passing later before tie.
Arsenal’s latest training session supplied one of the season’s more unusual images. Players were split into groups of four, bent forward and asked to steady a soccer ball between their bowed foreheads. Once the ball was secure, the foursomes sprinted together down the field.
That exercise was followed by a second test of coordination. Still in their huddled groups, each player used an index finger to balance one side of a pen in the air while a ball lay at their feet. They passed the ball between them as they ran toward a trash can and, at the end of the run, attempted to flick the ball into the bin.
Although likely implemented to encourage camaraderie, focus and multi-tasking, Mikel Arteta was guarded when reporters asked about the rationale after training. “I think the training session has to have different elements,” he said. “And it has to be related to the messages that we send, the compromises and commitments that we’ve done between us. I try to have all those messages and commitments as much as possible in as many situations as possible, and training was one of them.”
When pressed specifically about the use of pens, Arteta smiled and declined to elaborate. “That stays in the dressing room,” Arteta added with a smirk, when pressed about the use of pens specifically.
The session comes as Arsenal try to regroup following their FA Cup exit on Saturday, a 2–1 defeat to Southampton. The team will travel to Sporting CP on Tuesday for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal and will host Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium for the second leg on April 15.
Striker Viktor Gyökeres, who joined the club last summer for $74 million after scoring 97 times across 102 appearances for Sporting CP, will face his former side. “He’s very excited,” Arteta said Monday. “He’s full of gratitude for his time here, the way he talks about the club, the players, the staff and everybody around the club. The experience that he had and how important that part of his journey [was]. ]”
Arsenal
Henry warns Arsenal creativity could determine their Champions League progress
Henry says Arsenal’s defence is strong but limited creativity could expose them in Champions League.
Thierry Henry has drawn attention to a potential limiting factor in Arsenal’s Champions League bid: a shortage of creative spark. The club remain unbeaten in European competition this season and carry a 1–0 aggregate lead over Sporting CP after the first leg of their quarterfinal this week, but their display was a gritty, attritional affair rather than a showcase of invention.
Henry singled out the balance between defence and attack as a concern. “If the defense doesn’t work, I don’t think [Arsenal] are creating enough at times to be able to hurt teams and that might be an issue,” the Frenchman said on CBS Sports. He suggested the performance in Lisbon had offered limited attacking inspiration: “There wasn’t much in the [Sporting] game or a lot of creativity but they did what they had to do. They won away from home, let’s see what happens at the Emirates.”
The first-leg victory leaves Arsenal with the advantage going into the second match at the Emirates, where their home crowd will be a factor. Henry also emphasised the team’s defensive strengths and set-piece value. “We know their biggest strength already. They are strong as a team and very solid. For me they are the most solid team in the Champions League. We also know about the set-pieces—people cry about that, but it’s a part of the game and a big advantage for Arsenal because they’re pretty good at it.”
Henry pointed to the role of David Raya in preventing Sporting from taking a more comfortable lead after the first leg, noting that without his heroics Sporting might have had the upper hand.
If Arsenal protect their lead in the return, a semifinal against Barcelona or Atlético Madrid awaits. The club reached the semifinal stage last season before losing to Paris Saint-Germain. Earlier landmark semifinal ties include a 1–0 victory over Villarreal in 2005–06 and elimination by Manchester United in 2008–09.
Arsenal
Arsenal’s win over Sporting hands Premier League an extra Champions League place
Arsenal’s win over Sporting secures a fifth-place Champions League spot for the Premier League. 2026
Arsenal’s 1–0 victory over Sporting CP guaranteed that fifth place in the Premier League will qualify for next season’s Champions League. That single result removed uncertainty for clubs fighting to finish in the top five and will have been welcomed by rivals outside north London.
English clubs had dominated the Champions League group stage, with five of the top eight being Premier League teams. Even after a mass exit of English sides in the round of 16, the early autumn performance left the division with a strong coefficient lead for the season.
Heading into the quarterfinals, England needed only one draw from any of the five remaining clubs to secure the extra continental spot. Arsenal provided the required result with a nervy win over Sporting CP.
That confirmation comes at a key moment in the league table. Manchester United sit third on 55 points with a +13 goal difference while Aston Villa are fourth on 54 and Liverpool fifth on 49 with a +8 goal difference. Chelsea lie close behind on 48 with a +15 goal difference. The race could theoretically stretch down to Fulham in ninth as the final seven games play out.
Manchester United’s surge under Michael Carrick and Unai Emery’s steadier form at Aston Villa have reshaped expectations for the run-in. Even Everton’s manager David Moyes acknowledged the unexpected nature of his club’s position. “I’d love to say it was [a possibility] as I’m trying to be more positive than I would normally be,” Moyes mused last month, “but for Everton to even be in the mix for Europe is unbelievable, whether it is Conference League or Champions League.”
On the coefficient table, England lead with a coefficient average of 25.013, Spain are second on 20.281 and Germany third on 19.714. Spain are the only nation that can possibly overtake England this term, which means England’s extra Champions League place is secured for next season.
Several scenarios remain that could swell the number of English clubs in Europe, including domestic cup outcomes and European trophy winners from the Premier League, but Arsenal’s result erased the primary uncertainty about a fifth-placed Champions League berth.
Analytics & Stats
Opta Model Still Backs Arsenal as Cup Defeats Shift Momentum
Opta model still rates Arsenal top after cup losses; City short odds, Villa rise in Champions chase.
Arsenal’s recent defeats in domestic cup competition have altered the mood around the club, but Opta’s simulation still places Mikel Arteta’s team firmly on top of the Premier League. Southampton’s 2–1 win that eliminated Arsenal from the FA Cup and the north London side’s loss in the Carabao Cup final have intensified talk that Arteta’s side are primed to ’bottle’ a title run, but the numbers tell a less dramatic story.
Opta’s supercomputer lists Arsenal with 70 current points and an expected points tally of 84.57, giving them a 97% title probability. Manchester City sit second on 61 points with expected points of 74.82 and a 3% chance of overtaking Arsenal in the title race. Opta notes Arsenal’s title chance has only dropped by 0.77% since the two teams last played a league fixture.
Manchester City reinforced their recent cup momentum with a 4–0 FA Cup quarterfinal win over Liverpool in which Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick. That result, alongside City’s Carabao Cup success, has shifted perception, and City’s probability will increase significantly if they beat Arsenal at the Etihad on April 19.
Behind the top two, Opta’s projections show Manchester United on 55 points with expected points of 66.06 and an 86.33% chance of reaching the Champions League places. Aston Villa sit close behind on 54 points, expected 65.12 and a 77.38% probability. Liverpool (49 points) and Chelsea (48 points) have lower projected chances of finishing in the top five, at 21.95% and 10.12% respectively, while Brentford and Everton have only slim hopes.
At the bottom, the model highlights Burnley and Wolves as overwhelmingly likely to be relegated, while West Ham and Tottenham have seen their survival odds shift after recent results. Tottenham’s recent managerial change to Roberto De Zerbi followed Igor Tudor’s 44-day spell, and a home loss to Nottingham Forest has increased Spurs’ relegation probability to 26.33%.
United to Stay in Europe for 2026-27 Preseason; Nordic Tour Confirmed
Tactical Retreat: Slot’s Back-Five Sees Liverpool Outplayed by PSG in 2–0 First Leg
