Julius OkorieArsenal Manager, Mikel Arteta, has given a direct order to his boys to fire from all angles as they confront Sporting Lisbon tonight in the UEFA Champions League .
The Gunners, still basking in the euphoria of their 3-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest, going into today’s encounter, ought to be more ruthless according to Arteta, as they seek to improve their away performances.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Emirates landlords bounced back from a three-match winless streak to beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday in the Premier League.
But their away form in the Champions League is a concern. The north London club lost 1-0 at Inter Milan earlier this month having drawn 0-0 in Italy with Atalanta in September.
Arsenal’s last European away win came over a year ago on October 24, 2023 against Sevilla. Facing a Sporting team who are unbeaten in their domestic league and Europe this season, no doubt will be an herculean task. Arteta insists insists improvement is inevitable
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”It’s certainly something we have to improve (away form). I think we have made the right steps. But the reality is that you have to make it happen and we didn’t. Making those steps is what we have to do next. Be ruthless, be efficient in the opposition box and do what we have to do to take the three points away from here.
“The efficiency that we have shown inside the box with the chances that we are normally able to generate in the Champions League is not at the level required to win consistently,’ the Spaniard said. ‘I always say the Champions League is about boxes, small margins and details. You have to get all of those right to win, especially away from home.”
One player Arteta will be wary of is Viktor Gyokeres, who has struck 59 goals in 55 games for club and country in this calendar year, including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month.
In the absence of injured defenders, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney has returned to Arsenal’s squad for the first since playing in the 2023 Community Shield win over Manchester City. The full back has been in full training since last week, following his return to fitness after a hamstring injury.
Nine matches are lined up tonight in the UEFA Champions League including; Bayern Munich against Ligue 1 giants PSG, Manchester City fresh from a shocking 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham in the EPL, host Dutch side Feyenoord with return to winning ways paramount in the mind of Pep Guardiola tutored side.
Meanwhile, Manchester United suffered a £14 million ($17.6 million) drop in total revenue to £143.1 million, taking a hit from their absence from the lucrative Champions League, first-quarter results showed Tuesday.
But the club announced a net profit of £1.4 million in the period from July to September, compared with a £25.8 million loss during the same period last year, which they attributed to favourable foreign exchange rates.
The Red Devils finished eighth in the Premier League under former manager Erik ten Hag last season — their lowest-ever placing — to miss out on Europe’s top club competition.
That resulted in a 20.4 per cent drop in broadcasting revenue in the quarter ending September 30 to £31.3 million.
United’s FA Cup win last season means they are competing in this season’s Europa League instead.
Commercial revenue fell 5.6 per cent to £85.3 million, with matchday revenue decreasing by 3.3 per cent to £26.5 million.
The club recorded “exceptional” costs of £8.6 million. They said the figure “comprises costs incurred in relation to the restructuring of the group’s operations, including the redundancy scheme implemented in the first quarter of financial year 2025”.
British billionaire, Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group, took over football operations earlier this year after purchasing a minority stake.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
