Sporting star admits Arsenal clash was 'a bit boring' as Champions League clash ends goalless

Arsenal are through to the Champions League semi-finals after beating Sporting, but their captain, Morten Hjulmand, believes the quarter-final second leg was 'a little bit boring'

Sporting captain Morten Hjulmand has labelled their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Arsenal as 'boring'.

Hjulmand, 26, also remarked that the goalless draw was characterised by 'low intensity' and 'no rhythm', adding that it was not played in the manner his side had hoped for. Arsenal and Sporting managed just one shot on target apiece from a combined 23 attempts throughout the 90 minutes.

Their collective xG stood at 0.93, the lowest of any Champions League fixture this season. Sporting have netted 114 goals in 48 matches across all competitions this campaign, whereas Arsenal have found the net 117 times over 54 fixtures.

Speaking to CBS Sports following the match, Hjulmand said: "I think it was an even game today.

"I think the impact of the first game that we lost made it more difficult to go to the Emirates and win, especially when we don't lose that much at home. We knew it would be difficult here as well, but still a game with low intensity, no rhythm, zero goals, boring, I would say."

He continued: "A lot of stops during the game, so we couldn't get the rhythm we wanted to, so a little bit boring if I were a viewer from outside, 0-0.

"Also, the first game, 1-0, it's not the way Sporting wants to show itself. We want to score goals, create chances, and we didn't do it today."

Hjulmand emphasised the issue of stoppages, saying: "During the game, I felt a lot of stops, especially during set-pieces, and it takes a lot of time out of the game.

"That's the rhythm as well. When we did get the rhythm, especially in the first half, I think we created a lot of chances as well to score 1-0, but at the end, we didn't create enough to win the game, to be honest."

However, he declined to draw comparisons between Arsenal and the other sides to play in the Champions League this week. Hjulmand stated: "I prefer to speak about Sporting, and not Arsenal, and compare them to other teams."

Mikel Arteta also offered his assessment of Arsenal's display during his post-match press conference. The Gunners manager said: "You have to be better than the opponent.

"I think we had many periods in the game when we were there, but we didn't score the goal; we didn't finalise the action well enough. We have many other things that are very important to get the result that you need in a tie.

"At this moment as well, it's about the way you compete, and when you're going to go and win titles, that's what's going to define the moments. We certainly did that tonight."

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