Kai Havertz may have scored Arsenal's winner in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Sporting CP, but he highlighted "best keeper in the world" David Raya's contribution as key.

Havertz came off the bench to score in the 91st minute and earn Arsenal a slender 1-0 advantage over Sporting, getting them back to winning ways after recent frustrations.

Both sides struck the crossbar in the opening 15 minutes – courtesy of Maxi Araujo and Noni Madueke – while Arsenal also had a second-half goal for Martin Zubimendi ruled out, with Viktor Gyokeres offside in the build-up.

Havertz has now netted three goals in his last five substitute appearances in the Champions League.

Indeed, of his 14 goals in the competition overall, seven have come across the last two seasons (four in 2024-25, three in 2025-26).

But before Havertz slotted into the bottom-left corner, Raya made three big saves to keep Sporting at bay, prompting high praise from the German.

"To score a late goal is always nice, especially in front of the fans, and we take that result," Havertz told Amazon Prime.

"Still a lot of work to do next week, but we take the result for sure.

"[Raya is] unbelievable. I think [he is] still underestimated in the world of football, but for me, the last two seasons, the best keeper in the world.

"He's outstanding, he's saved us so many times, and we're very glad to have him."

Arsenal have lost the first leg in just one of their last six Champions League knockout ties (W3 D2), while they have progressed in seven of their last eight ties when winning the first leg.

It was an important win for the Gunners, who lost the EFL Cup final to Manchester City last month, before being knocked out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by Southampton on Saturday.

That was the first time Arsenal had lost back-to-back games this season in all competitions, but Havertz was thrilled with how they responded.

"Definitely a big turnaround for us because we lost the last two matches," he said. "So, we wanted to get a turnaround, and we made that happen.

"We stick together as a group; we have so much more to come this season. Seven weeks to go, we can win big titles, and we're going to go for that."