Mikel Arteta hails "landmark" Champions League win but Arsenal dealt injury concern

Arsenal finally got a win on the road in Europe after more than year of waiting with a thumping 5-1 Champions League victory against Sporting Lisbon in Portugal

Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s “landmark” win as the best Champions League performance of his reign.

Incredibly, it was Arsenal ’s first away win in Europe for 13 months and also their first goals in the competition in their last five games. It was also Sporting Lisbon’s first defeat of the season.

Arsenal made it a five-star show with goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard to prove they can be genuine challengers. When asked whether it was the best Champions League win of his tenure, Gunners boss Arteta said: “For sure. Especially against the opponent that we played in their home. I don’t think they’ve lost here in 18 months.

“They’ve been in top form, they’ve been better than everyone they’ve played here. To play to that level with the fluidity that we’ve done today, very pleased.

“The performance was there a few times when we have played big teams. We played PSG and we were exceptional again. We played Bayern and were exceptional. But we made some mistakes and it cost us.

"That’s the level. We have to be able to cope. You have to make it happen. That creates belief. We need that consistency because the ability is there. It’s a big performance, a big win and we’re really happy.”

Arteta said Arsenal’s win was a sign they are getting their players back to fitness but then revealed Gabriel went off injured and that will be a concern for the Gunners before they go to West Ham on Saturday. Arteta added: “We don’t know on Gabriel. We had to make the change because he was feeling some discomfort. We had to get him out.

“It’s true that we’re still managing certain players. The level raises no doubt if we have the availability we’re going to be a really good side.”

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