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How Mikel Arteta will have treasured this win. Having come into their third successive appearance in the quarter-final of the Champions League on the back of devastating defeats in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, he had watched Arsenal put in another anxious performance against a spirited Sporting side who could have established a precious lead ahead of next week’s second leg in north London if they had taken their chances.

Instead it was Kai Havertz who again came to Arsenal’s rescue after scoring in the last round against his former club Bayer Leverkusen as he struck in injury time, with David Raya making a string of fine saves that underlined his importance to the side. After the doubts emerged in the defeats against Manchester City and Southampton, perhaps this will be the confidence boost that the Premier League leaders needed as they prepare to return to domestic action against Bournemouth on Saturday?

Arsenal may have thrashed Sporting 5-1 last season in the league stages but they were facing opponents who were brimming with confidence after their epic comeback in the previous round against Bodø/Glimt.

The Sporting manager, Rui Borges, had urged his players to seize their opportunity after reaching this stage of the competition for the first time since 1983 and named teenager João Simões to replace suspended captain Morten Hjulmand in midfield. “They’re good, but so are we,” he said in a TV interview before kick-off.

After failing to reach the last eight for 13 years after the last time they managed the feat of three successive quarter-final appearances between 2008 and 2010, Arsenal have shown that they belong at this level. Yet the absence of four key players in Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Jurriën Timber and Piero Hincapié – not to mention their fragile confidence after the defeats by Manchester City and Southampton – made this even more of a potential banana skin.

That was underlined after only six minutes when Ousmane Diomande split Arsenal’s defence with a superb pass. It needed a brilliant fingertip save from Raya, who was rested in those two defeats, to divert Maxi Araújo’s piledriver on to the crossbar. Viktor Gyökeres was given a good reception by the Sporting fans during the warmup but the Sweden striker didn’t touch the ball against his former club until the 11th minute as Arsenal struggled to find their rhythm in the early stages.

As ever, their best chance of scoring appeared to be from a set piece and Martin Ødegaard should have at least hit the target when the ball fell invitingly into his path after Noni Madueke’s corner struck the crossbar. At least there was a semblance of control in midfield with Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi’s partnership restored. Ødegaard was guilty of giving the ball away in advanced positions on more than one occasion as Arsenal continued to lack creativity from open play.

The Sporting midfielder, Hidemasa Morita, couldn’t believe his bad luck after being cautioned for fouling Leandro Trossard despite replays showing that he clearly got the ball.

Top scorer Luis Suárez was waiting to pounce on a poor back pass from Zubimendi just before half-time that forced Raya to hack away. Ødegaard finally registered Arsenal’s first shot on target in the 43rd minute, although Rui Silva was easily able to gather his weak effort that summed up the visitors’ meek first half.

The Norway captain couldn’t be faulted for his effort as he attempted to rouse Arsenal at the start of the second half. His free-kick from a wide angle was tipped over the bar by Silva before Gabriel Magalhães was inches away from making contact from the resulting corner.

Suárez almost caught Arsenal on the break when the ball was cleared but Raya’s header inside the centre circle averted the danger. Sporting’s supporters were given more encouragement when Francisco Trincão dragged his shot wide after a slick move down the left.

After the cagey first half, suddenly the game seemed to open up more. Zubimendi thought that he had given Arsenal the lead with a lovely first-time finish from outside the penalty area only for the video assistant referee to confirm that Gyökeres had been offside in the buildup. The visitors continued to press as Sporting retreated deeper into their own half and the introduction of Havertz for Ødegaard suggested that Arteta was going for the win.

Teenage sensation Max Dowman was also thrown on with Gabriel ­Martinelli as Arsenal chased the elusive goal, with the latter testing Silva almost immediately. Tricky winger Geny Catano was denied twice the space of two minutes by Raya as he pushed away the Mozambique international’s header at his near post, It proved to be crucial as Martinelli set up Havertz for a cool finish to ease Arsenal’s nerves just when they needed its most.