How Arsenal lined up the last time they faced Sporting Lisbon with just two of Arteta’s squad

ARSENAL found out that Sporting Lisbon will be their opponent in the next Europa League round.

The Gunners led their group and didn’t need to follow Manchester United into a play-off, instead getting a pass straight into the last 16.

And after the draw, Arsenal will face Sporting Lisbon, who were eliminated from Tottenham’s group in the Champions League.

Arsenal’s last game against the Portuguese giants was as recently as 2018 and ended in a 0-0 draw, but they’ve undergone a major makeover since then.

In fact, only two members of the squad have survived since Mikel Arteta began his rebuilding at the Emirates.

And now these two stars have a chance to face Sporting again.

The first of the retained stars is Emile Smith Rowe, who started playing at the tender age of 18.

The other star in question is defender Rob Holding, who sat at the heart of the defense.

He partnered Sokratis at center-back ahead of then-goalkeeper and captain Petr Cech.

Swiss defender Stephan Lichtsteiner took over the role at right-back while Carl Jenkinson stepped in as a backup left-back.

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In midfield, Aaron Ramsey has been paired with Matteo Guendouzi, with the pair now both playing in Ligue 1.

Two of the top three have retained their Premier League spots, albeit with mixed success for those teams at present.

Now Brighton ace Danny Welbeck led the Gunners’ attack in the game, while Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi was deployed on the left wing.

The attack was completed by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who cajoled Arsenal to deceive following a Man Utd transfer.

While only two stars remain from the starting XI, there are two players on the bench who are still at the club, although one is on loan.

The first is Southampton loanee Ainsely Maitland-Niles, who replaced Lichtsteiner in the 73rd minute.

The other is Eddie Nketiah, the only starter in Arsenal’s current squad from the 2018 game.

But the Hale-End graduate didn’t get a minute of the game from then-coach Unai Emery.

Instead, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replaced Welbeck when he left injured in the 30th minute, while Sead Kolasinac came on for Jenkinson after 60 minutes.

Other stars on the bench included world champions Emiliano Martinez and Shkodran Mustafi, while Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Torrerira completed the squad.