Sporting Lisbon coach Joao Pereira has earmarked the threat of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli ahead of their Champions League clash on Tuesday.
With former head coach Ruben Amorim beginning his new job at Manchester United, Pereira has taken over the reins at Sporting.
And his side picked up where they left off under Amorim at the weekend, registering a thumping 6-0 win over Amarante in the Portuguese cup.
Attention now turns to Europe where Sporting have also made a superb start, most recently beating Manchester City 4-1 to sit second in the league table.
Pereira’s side face another stern test with the visit of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal but Amorim’s successor feels his side are more than ready for the challenge.
‘I feel comfortable and it’s a pleasure to be her,’ he said speaking ahead of Tuesday’s clash.
‘There is no way to hide it, the level of difficulty will increase, but I believe we are prepared.
‘Everyone knows that Arsenal have seven points, they only have one goal conceded from the penalty spot, they are very strong defensively and for sure they will try to create problems up front, where they are very strong.’
The Gunners looked back to their best at the weekend with a convincing 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest and will now look to get back to winning ways in Europe having lost 1-0 to Inter Milan last time out.
Revitalised by the return of captain Martin Odegaard, Arsenal look a threat once again in attack, with Pereira singling out two other players that Sporting must be especially wary of on Tuesday.
‘I was more concerned with our structure, Sporting also has great players, who are having a fantastic campaign and want to continue to give answers,’ he said.
‘Arsenal have great players, they are strong in one-on-one with Bukayo Saka and Martinelli and there is also the situation of their offensive tactical schemes, with many goals and chances.’
Sporting boast their own attacking threat in the form of prolific goalscorer Viktor Gyokeres, but Gunners keeper David Raya said his side already have plans in place to try and keep the talismanic Swede quiet.
‘We know his strengths, how he runs a lot in behind and scores a lot in one-v-one and he is a top player in form,’ Raya said.
‘We are going to try and keep him very, very quiet. Don’t give him any chances. We have to step up defensively. Hopefully, we can do a great job and keep a clean sheet.’
