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UEFA Champions League All competitions All competitions All competitions Arsenal remain unbeaten against Sporting CP in European competition (P8 W4 D4), while the Gunners are the team the Portuguese side have faced most often in Europe without ever winning. Sporting CP haven’t won away to an English team since March 2005 (3-2 v Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup), drawing five and losing five of their last 10 trips; four of which have been in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L2). When winning away from home in the first leg of a two-legged knockout stage tie in European competition, Arsenal have progressed in 19 out of 20 occasions – their only elimination came against Olympiakos in the UEFA Europa League last 32 in 2019-20 (won 1-0 away, lost 1-2 at home – eliminated on away goals). Arsenal have won 10 of their 11 games in the UEFA Champions League this season (D1). Of teams with 10+ matches played in a European Cup/Champions League campaign, only Bayern Munich in 2019-20, who won all 11 matches that season, have ever had a higher win percentage (100%). Sporting CP have only won one of their last eight away games in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L5), with that one victory coming against Athletic Club – who finished 29th in the league phase – back in January (3-2). Their last away win in the knockout stages of the European Cup/Champions League was in September 1970 (4-0 v Floriana), going winless in 10 since then (D3 L7). Arsenal’s only defeat across their last 23 European home games (W17 D5) came against Paris SG in last season’s UEFA Champions League semi-finals (0-1). The Gunners have kept a clean sheet in 16 of their last 22 European matches at the Emirates Stadium, conceding just nine goals overall. Based on x G of shots on target faced (excl. own goals), Arsenal’s David Raya has the best goals prevented rate (+2. 13) of any goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League this season (3 conceded from 6. 4 x G on target). Raya has seven clean sheets in 2025-26, while only one goalkeeper has ever kept more for an English team in a single Champions League campaign (Édouard Mendy – 9 for Chelsea in 2020-21). Luis Suárez (5 goals, 2 assists) and Trincão (4 goals, 3 assists) have both been directly involved in seven goals in the UEFA Champions League this season; the joint-record for a Sporting CP player in a single edition, along with Viktor Gyökeres in 2024-25 (7). Gabriel Martinelli has been directly involved in a goal every 63 minutes in the UEFA Champions League this season (6 goals, 2 assists in 507 minutes); the best ratio by any Arsenal player with 500+ minutes played in a single edition. Sporting CP’s Iván Fresneda has made more underlapping off-ball runs than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season (23), while he also ranks first among all players when combining both underlapping and overlapping off-ball runs (42). Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.