{"id":45570,"date":"2026-04-08T05:28:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/im-not-negative-arsenal-warned-despite-champions-league-win-this-week\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T05:28:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:28:44","slug":"im-not-negative-arsenal-warned-despite-champions-league-win-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/im-not-negative-arsenal-warned-despite-champions-league-win-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I&#8217;m not negative&#8217; \u2013 Arsenal warned despite Champions League win this week"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/im-not-negative-arsenal-warned-despite-champions-league-win-this-week\/#Arsenal_received_a_warning_despite_winning_against_Sporting\" >Arsenal received a warning despite winning against Sporting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/im-not-negative-arsenal-warned-despite-champions-league-win-this-week\/#Is_Varley_justified_in_his_criticism_of_Mikel_Artetas_side\" >Is Varley justified in his criticism of Mikel Arteta&#8217;s side?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mikel Arteta may have breathed a sigh of relief after Arsenal&#8217;s 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, but critics remain unconvinced.<br \/><\/strong><br \/>Despite getting back to victory thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Kai Havertz and a decisive save from goalkeeper David Raya, the Gunners have been given a stern warning. They simply don&#8217;t operate at the same elite level as European powerhouses Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.<\/p>\n<div aria-setsize=\"-1\" id=\"message-list_1773822614.804109\" style=\"clear:left;\">\n<div>\n<div aria-roledescription=\"message\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><b>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">apple<\/span><\/u><\/b><b>    &#038; <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">Google play<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Chelsea midfielder and ESPN pundit Craig Burley made this sober assessment.<\/p>\n<p>Burley admitted Arsenal are now overwhelming favorites to advance to the semi-finals, where they will face either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, but insisted that surviving the &#8220;softer&#8221; side of the draw masks fundamental shortcomings.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arsenal_received_a_warning_despite_winning_against_Sporting\"><\/span>Arsenal received a warning despite winning against Sporting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cWhen it comes to consequences, you obviously accept it.\u201d<\/em> Burley said on ESPN, as reported by Metro.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Sporting are one of the weakest teams left, if not the weakest team, but Arsenal were not a great team and we know that.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIf disaster doesn\u2019t happen at home, I think they will go home and dry after that result. \u201cNo matter who the opponent is, we can take a 1-0 lead and take it home next week in the Champions League quarter-finals. We will win it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cHowever, even if they get through to the semi-finals against Sporting, they will have to improve and if they do not improve\u2026 I mean, did you watch the other game tonight, Real Madrid vs. Bayern?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Everyone is talking about the depth of Arsenal&#8217;s team at the moment and they will probably win the Premier League, but they need to play better.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;The level that Bayern and Real Madrid have reached today, and we know that they both can be better, but I don&#8217;t think Arsenal&#8230;We really need to flip the switch again to get to that level.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIs anyone surprised that Arsenal won 1-0 away against one of the weakest teams? That&#8217;s all I&#8217;m saying.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Overall, they&#8217;ve got to find that extra gear that they had at the beginning of the season, or they&#8217;re not going to win this competition.&#8221; I&#8217;m not saying that negatively, that&#8217;s the reality. \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Varley_justified_in_his_criticism_of_Mikel_Artetas_side\"><\/span>Is Varley justified in his criticism of Mikel Arteta&#8217;s side?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Burley&#8217;s criticism carries weight given Arsenal&#8217;s recent domestic instability.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to their hard-fought victory in Portugal, the North Londoners suffered a heartbreaking 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, followed by a shock defeat to Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals, on a painful losing streak.<\/p>\n<p>These stumbles temporarily shattered Arsenal&#8217;s aura of invincibility and raised the usual questions about their mental fortitude during a high-stakes spring training period.<\/p>\n<p>Arteta himself admitted his side had &#8220;a point to prove&#8221; against Sporting, praising their tenacity to pull off an ugly win against a side who were unbeaten in 23 league games.<\/p>\n<p>But breaking through a stubborn defensive block in Lisbon is a much different challenge than going head-to-head against the likes of Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.<\/p>\n<p>The coming weeks will be a bigger test for Arsenal and Arteta, but so far they are unbeaten in this season&#8217;s Champions League, the only team to boast such a record.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Arsenal&#8217;s result gives Liverpool and Chelsea a big breakthrough in the UCL <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mikel Arteta may have breathed a sigh of relief after Arsenal&#8217;s 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, but critics remain unconvinced.Despite getting back to victory thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Kai Havertz and a decisive save from goalkeeper David Raya, the Gunners have been given a stern warning. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-45570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}