Arsenal’s Europa League last-16 tie with Sporting Lisbon is well set after the Gunners secured a 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Thursday.
William Saliba opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a header from Fabio Vieira’s corner, before Sporting equalized at the other end, 12 minutes later when Gonzalo Inácio pounced on a Marcus Edwards delivery.
Paulinho gave the home side the lead before Gabriel Martinelli almost scored a spectacular solo goal, dribbling from inside his own half and rounding Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Aden, only for Jeremiah St. Juste to make a last-ditch intervention. Arsenal restored parity on 62 minutes when Sporting CP’s Hidemasa Morita had the misfortune to convert Granit Xhaka’s pass into his own net.
The second leg takes place next Thursday with Arsenal hoping they can secure their place in the quarter-finals for the fourth time in six seasons.
Arteta brings change but Arsenal keeps the pressure on two fronts
He needed some slice of luck – none other than his second equalizer, ricocheting off Morita via a deftly attacking pass from Xhaka. But Arsenal will be confident of finishing the job in front of their own fans to reach the quarter-finals next week.
It would have been reasonable to think in August that the Europa League was one of Arsenal’s best chances of success, but now that they have a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, changes to the starting line-up were perhaps inevitable. With Fulham to play league on Sunday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made six changes here, partly reported to be affected by the illness of Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney, while Leandro Trossard (groin) and Eddie Nketiah (ankle) also headed back to London. And despite the flurry of excitement, Gabriel Jesus also didn’t make the trip as he nears return from knee surgery.
Jakub Kivor was handed his start after his last-minute heroics against Bournemouth at the weekend, while Reiss Nelson comes into the line-up. Arsenal’s play inevitably had a little less fluidity – especially with so many key players, including Gabriel, Thomas Partey, and Odegaard not involved from the kickoff – and at 2–1 down, Paulinho scored to seal the tie. Missed out on a great opportunity. Completely different colours.
But as it is, the draw with home advantage to come leaves the Gunners favorites to reach the last eight.
Viera Performance is a mixed bag, but one to build from
Only Bukayo Saka (nine) has provided more assists for Arsenal in all competitions this season than Vieira’s six.
Vieira’s latest was simple enough: a corner landed on Saliba’s head. He has assists against Boddo/Glimt, Oxford United Wolves, and Aston Villa among other opponents – perhaps symptomatic of the limited opportunities he has had to impress so far.
In what was only his 12th start, Vieira was not able to direct the game with the same authority as Odegaard – the player he was effectively replacing. He completed 31 of his 39 passes, but only 67% of them were in the final third.
More improvement is needed but there are encouraging signs for the 22-year-old going forward.
Set-pieces threaten to become an issue for Arsenal
The two first-half goals were very similar in build – a close-range header from a corner – and it is not the first time Arsenal has looked vulnerable on set pieces in recent weeks.
It was the sixth goal he has conceded from dead-ball situations, seven if you count Bournemouth’s kickoff routine that led to a goal in nine seconds last weekend. Manchester United, Everton, Brentford, Bournemouth, and now Sporting have also benefited from Arsenal’s weakness on set plays.
There were a series of individual errors in the handling of a 34th-minute corner from Sporting CP forward Marcus Edwards. Arsenal’s Gabriele Martinelli allowed Gonzalo Inácio to escape his attention too easily, Jakub Kivor ducked under Edwards’ delivery and Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner failed to control his six-yard box.
It’s hardly worth panicking about Arsenal’s set pieces at this stage, but after conceding a corner in a 1-0 loss at Everton, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said: “It worried me a bit, [Arsenal’s] handling of set pieces, not only that but your handling of crosses in the box. Once other teams, analysts, and coaches see a potential weakness, you have to nip it in the bud.
The fact is, Arsenal hasn’t dealt with the problem and other teams are catching on.