With a goalless draw in north London, Arsenal have edged past Sporting CP to set up a meeting with Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semifinals thanks to their 1-0 win in the first leg last week.
Kai Havertz's 91st-minute goal proved enough to seperate the teams in two matches that will not live long in the memory. But Arsenal's success in Europe has proved a welcome distraction to the defeats suffered against Manchester City, Southampton and Bournemouth in recent weeks.
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In getting the better of Sporting at the Emirates tonight, Arsenal have succeeded in reaching back-to-back Champions League semifinals for the first time. It has also marked a significant step towards the capture of a first major European trophy for the Gunners, who have only previously lifted one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Arsenal are now unbeaten in nine games against Portuguese teams in Europe (W6, D3), but how much damage their recent domestic defeats have done to their confidence heading into the weekend's showdown with City remains to be seen.
They were made to suffer in both legs, but progress in Europe could have calmed troubled waters and allow Arteta's team to return to Premier League action with a new-found confidence.