Arsenal's Quadruple Hopes Still Alive

LONDON, WEDNESDAY – The second leg of the Champions League round of 16, played on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) early morning WIB, confirmed Arsenal as the only European team with a chance of winning four major trophies, aka the quadruple, in the 2025-2026 season. The Gunners secured this feat thanks to a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, while their rivals, Manchester City, lost 2-1 to Real Madrid.

Arsenal secured victory thanks to goals from the precise powerful shots of the duo of England national team players, Eberechi Eze (36th minute) and Declan Rice (63rd minute). The positive result at the Emirates Stadium in London ensured Arsenal eliminated Leverkusen with an aggregate score of 3-1.

That achievement marks Arsenal's ninth victory in the Champions League this season. Out of the 10 matches played, Mikel Arteta's team has only failed to win once, drawing 1-1 against Leverkusen in the first leg of the round of 16 last week.

Undoubtedly, Arsenal is the only team that remains unbeaten in the most prestigious club competition in Europe. Arsenal will next challenge the Portuguese representative, Sporting Lisbon, in the quarter-finals. They will first play an away match in Lisbon, Portugal, on April 8, followed by a decisive duel in London a week later on April 15.

An important result against Leverkusen keeps "The Gunners" in contention across four competitions: the Premier League, the Champions League, the League Cup, and the FA Cup. Eze stated that Arsenal's challenge will become increasingly difficult in the quarter-finals.

However, he believes the pressure-packed matches in the remainder of the season are worth facing in order to chase the title.

"Whoever we face, it's always a tough and difficult match. This match (against Leverkusen) is important preparation for the decisive match on Sunday," Eze told TNT Sports, discussing the upcoming League Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday (March 22, 2026).

Furthermore, Eze revealed that the main ambition of the Arsenal squad is to pursue all available trophies. The Gunners are already nine points ahead of City in the race for the Premier League title.

Since October, we've been used to playing every three days. Although it's been difficult, we're trying to cope with the situation as best we can.

Interestingly, Arsenal will be competing in three other competitions before returning to the Premier League on April 11. Arsenal can fully focus on maintaining their quadruple hopes by competing for the League Cup trophy against City, followed by an FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton (April 5) and the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Sporting (April 8).

"We want to perform very well and secure all the trophies. That has been our goal since the beginning of the season. We will continue to push and work, but we also hope for God's grace to make that happen," said Eze.

Rice stated that the Arsenal squad has proven to be resilient in facing high-pressure matches in a short period. The energetic midfielder warned opponents that Arsenal will not stop pursuing prestigious trophies this season.

"We're still in all competitions. Since October, we've been used to playing every three days. Although it's been difficult, we're trying to handle the situation as best we can. The most important thing is that we can find a way to win and feel good about ourselves as a team," Rice said, as reported by the BBC.

Unlike Arsenal, their close competitor City was powerless against Real. City faced two matches with defeats. After falling 0-3 at the Bernabeu Stadium, "The Citizens" suffered another bitter pill after losing 1-2 at the Etihad Stadium in England.

A brace, or two goals, from Real Madrid's striker, Vinicius Junior, in the 22nd minute and 90+3 served to emphasize the superiority of the 15-time Champions League titleholders over City. City's consolation goal was scored by Erling Haaland with a tap-in in the 41st minute.

Being eliminated from the Champions League has caused City to lose the opportunity to secure a second title in Europe. Their hopes of lifting a trophy now rest solely on three domestic competitions in England.

However, the journey to avoid a season without titles will be very difficult for Pep Guardiola's team. In addition to having to close the significant point gap with Arsenal in the English Premier League and facing the Gunners, who are currently on a positive trend in the League Cup final, City will also be competing for a ticket to the FA Cup semifinals by battling against Liverpool.

Jeremy Doku, the wing midfielder of City, believes that his team played well against Real in front of their home supporters. On the other hand, he commended the quality and sharp performance of Real's players in the two encounters in the round of 16.

"We are very disappointed with this defeat. We have to accept the bitter reality. I feel that we created many opportunities, but they (Real) always have an outstanding team," said Doku as reported by the UEFA website.

"This season's journey will teach us many lessons. We will analyze this match and hope to do everything better on Sunday (League Cup final)," he said afterwards.

Meanwhile, another English representative, Chelsea, was powerless to fend off the strength of the defending Champions League titleholder, Paris Saint-Germain. Playing at home, Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea squad seemed dazzled by the Champions League shield emblazoned on the left chest of the "Les Parisiens" jersey.

Chelsea suffered a 0-3 defeat due to poor collective performance in thwarting PSG's quick transitions. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola had already put PSG ahead by two goals just 14 minutes into the match.

PSG's young midfielder, Senny Mayuluz, plunged "The Blues" to a new low with his third goal for PSG in the 62nd minute. PSG defeated Chelsea with a decisive aggregate score of 8-2. (AFP)