When Arsenal take on Sporting in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, there’s more on the line than just surviving another knockout night in Lisbon.

This is one of those moments where Arsenal need to prove those back-to-back losses first to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, then a tough one against Southampton in the FA Cup, aren’t about to torpedo the rest of their season, either in Europe or in the Premier League.

People keep calling Arsenal the “nearly men” under Mikel Arteta, and it’s hard to argue with three straight second-place finishes in the league. But this season, they’ve played with a certain edge, pulling nine points clear at the top, reaching one cup final, and still pushing for more in Europe and the other domestic competitions. Their style gets picked apart sometimes, sure, but now everyone’s watching their mentality.

Up until the City and Southampton defeats, Arsenal hadn’t lost back-to-back games all season. The Southampton loss was only their fifth all year. And as the pressure mounts in the Champions League and Premier League, the trophies they truly crave, Arteta needs to prove that falling just short in the past isn’t going to haunt them while chasing their biggest prize since 2020.

Arteta himself keeps it real. “Have some perspective about how difficult it is, what we’ve done so far,” he said when asked about avoiding a losing streak. “Feel the pain, feel the emotion, and use it to be better.”

He says the team knows exactly what went wrong against Southampton, and he doesn’t think the loss was deserved. “That’s football, we got punished for things that are part of who we are,” he said. “Those are the things we need to protect, always.”

Still, Arteta insists his players are “hungrier than ever”, and these recent stumbles don’t change anything about how huge the Sporting match is. “If we’d won, it’s still the Champions League quarter-finals, it doesn’t get much bigger,” he said. “We worked all season to get here, and we know exactly who we’re up against.”

But even with a nine-point Premier League lead, Arsenal fans are chewing their nails. Why? Because City are on a roll. Guardiola’s team dominated Arsenal at Wembley and then hammered Liverpool in the FA Cup over the weekend. On top of that, Arsenal are battling injuries, with 11 players recently pulling out of international duty, and both Saka and Timber are out for the match. Gabriel Magalhaes tweaked his knee against Southampton, and Odegaard is still building up fitness.

Sporting boss Rui Borges isn’t expecting Arsenal to be flat just because they've lost two in a row. “They’ll be a wounded beast,” he said. “That means they'll be more focused, more determined, and it actually makes our job harder. But we’re ready. We believe we can do something extraordinary, something Sporting has never done before.”

Sporting have never made it to the last four of the Champions League, and they’re hoping to pile more pressure on Arsenal.

Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya gets it, too. He says the frustration from those defeats is exactly the fire they need. “We’ve got to use that pain as our fuel for the rest of the season,” he said. “It starts with Sporting. That’s all that matters right now.”

Gabriel Jesus isn’t shy about putting Bukayo Saka right up there with the likes of Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, and Rodrygo. When Rio Ferdinand asked him where Saka ranks among the best wide players in football right now, the Brazilian striker didn’t hesitate.

“They’re all at the same level,” Jesus said. He knows Saka as well as anyone, having played alongside him for four years at Arsenal. “He’s at the same table. Sure, they each play their own way, and they’ve had their ups and downs, but all of them step up in big moments. Saka’s earned his place in that group. He still needs to win a few big trophies, but those will come.”

For Jesus, it’s not just Saka’s talent that stands out; it’s his attitude. Despite all the pressure and the spotlight at Arsenal, Saka’s kept his feet on the ground. “Honestly, I’m a huge fan of his personality. He’s strong but so humble. These days, you don’t find many players who rise through the academy, become huge for the club, and still stay the same,” Jesus said.

With Arsenal heading into the season’s final stretch, Jesus sounds more optimistic than ever. He sees how the team’s grown under Mikel Arteta, with players like Saka leading the way, and he truly believes this is the squad to finally win the Premier League again. “I’m really confident. We’re in a great spot, and we have such a strong squad,” he said. “I believe 100% we’re doing something special this season.”

Saka’s influence has been massive. His form has kept Arsenal on top of the Premier League table, holding a nine-point lead over Manchester City even though City have a game in hand. Jesus, who arrived from City in 2022 with four league titles under his belt, thinks this team’s ready. They’ve fallen short before, but he’s convinced they can finish the job this time.