Quarter-final victory: Why Arsenal is hailed as the world's best

Arsenal clinched a nail-biting victory against Sporting CP owing to Kai Havertz's late strike, with David Raya standing out through a string of superb saves.

In a dramatic night in Lisbon, Kai Havertz became the hero with a late goal that helped Arsenal defeat Sporting CP 1-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. However, the German forward emphasized that this win was heavily marked by goalkeeper David Raya, whom he called "the best in the world."

Right after the match, Havertz lavished praise on his teammate: “Unbelievable. I think he is still undervalued, but for me, over the last two seasons, he is the best goalkeeper in the world. He saved us many times.”

The on-field reality proved it. From the very first minutes, Raya had to operate at full capacity, repeatedly denying dangerous chances from the hosts. Most notable was his diving save that pushed the ball onto the crossbar following Maxi Araujo's shot, helping Arsenal avoid an early conceded goal.

Pressure from Sporting CP did not diminish throughout the match, but Raya remained steadfast with a series of excellent saves. Former star Alan Shearer also acknowledged the importance of this goalkeeper: “Without David Raya's excellence, Arsenal would hardly have achieved this result.”

In a stalemate situation, manager Mikel Arteta created a turning point with substitutions. Gabriel Martinelli and Havertz came off the bench, and this duo precisely produced the decisive moment.

Havertz shared about the goal: “Scoring late is always great, especially in front of the fans. But we still have much work to do in the return leg.”

This victory gives Arsenal a temporary advantage ahead of the second leg, while also easing some pressure after two consecutive domestic defeats: “This is an important comeback. We wanted to change the situation and we did it,” Havertz concluded.