Maxi Araújo on Sporting's Form: "We're Doing Very Well!"

Maxi Araújo missed Alverca's 4-1 match due to suspension on Sunday, the same day he joined the Uruguayan national team. The squad is set to play a friendly against England at Wembley this Friday, followed by a clash with Algeria in Turin on Tuesday. It was from England that the Sporting left-back discussed the upcoming Arsenal encounter and the club's current form.

"We faced them in the previous Champions League, but we're in excellent form this time around. Now we'll confront them again," the Uruguayan stated, referring to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The first leg is scheduled for April 7th in Alvalade, with the return leg on April 15th in London.

The Uruguayan national team is currently training at the Gunners' facilities. Speaking to El Espectador Deportes, Maxi openly expressed his excitement about being in England, a country home to the Premier League and clubs reportedly monitoring him. "This will be my first time in England, and I hope it's the first of many. It's going to be incredible, a huge opportunity, and I'm going to make the most of it," confessed the 26-year-old full-back.

While he plays as a full-back for Sporting – where he delivered a magnificent performance in the Champions League last-16 second leg, scoring in the 5-0 comeback against Bodo/Glimt after a 3-0 first-leg deficit in Norway – he's deployed as a winger for the national team. This led to a conversation with the national coach: "I spoke with Marcelo Bielsa, and he told me to quickly switch gears, that it would be more or less the same but a bit further forward. I feel very good, very confident, and I'm really looking forward to the game."

Maxi Araújo also spoke about his national team role models, such as Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde and Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo. "They are our benchmarks. They are playing at an incredibly high level, and that's very important for us. Hopefully, we all have a great game on Friday," he said, contrasting it with the 5-1 friendly defeat to the United States in November:

"Those are things that cannot happen again; we need to correct them. The team is in great shape now; everyone has been playing at a high level for their clubs, and we have an incredible opportunity to prove our worth for the national team."