Arsenal have Bukayo Saka and £12m insurance policy for Europa League decider vs Sporting CP
There could be a penalty shoot-out on Thursday night when Arsenal take on Sporting CP for a place in the Europa League quarter-finals.
After a 2-2 draw in the round of 16 first leg in Portugal last week, the clash now faces the decisive game at the Emirates Stadium and with the away goals rule being abolished by UEFA at the beginning of last season, all signs point to an entertaining one down game
According to UEFA rules, if the scores are tied overall after 90 minutes as well as 30 minutes of extra time, a penalty shoot-out will determine the team that qualifies for the next stage of the competition and another draw is the only result that would allow this that this scenario becomes a reality.
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Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal are no strangers to this particular scenario, having won two penalties against Liverpool in a matter of weeks earlier in the 2020/21 season to lift the Community Shield and reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
However, the only time the Gunners have been involved in a penalty shoot-out in that competition – when it was called the UEFA Cup before it was renamed – was in the final against Galatasaray almost 23 years ago, which ended in defeat to Davor Suker, with Patrick Vieira absent 12 yards.
Hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself when a shootout is required in north London, but Arteta may take comfort that his side have had a 100 per cent record from the spot in regular play so far this season and he added one of the most reliable Penalty takers for £12m in January transfer window to his squad.
So, if Thursday night’s Europa League round of 16 second leg against Sporting CP has to be decided on penalties, given their previous records, who should be the top five to line up for the Gunners? So, football.londons Arsenal writers Tom Canton and Tashan Deniran-Alleyne have their say.
Tom Canton – Arsenal writer
Right off the bat, the obvious starter should always be your most regular penalty taker. You don’t want the person making the decision trying to take all the glory of the fifth penalty and seeing your teammates miss and press; They need to step up and start strong for the squad and hence regular goalscorers Bukayo Saka and Jorginho start (I assume you can bring the Italian on at the end of extra time if he’s not already deployed).
Then the theories begin. To me, a good penalty taker is someone who can get the ball as accurately as possible into the back goal where a goalkeeper just can’t get. Therefore, these players must be good passers and Granit Xhaka, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard are the obvious choices.
In a sudden death scenario, the above method continues with three-time Fulham assistant Leandro Trossard being the man to carry on, followed by other strong passers such as Fabio Vieira, William Saliba and Ben White.
Canton Arsenal vs. Sporting CP penalty takers (in order): 1. Bukayo Saka, 2. jorginho, 3. granite Xhaka, 4. Oleksandr Zinchenko, 5. Martin Odegaard
Sudden Death Pick: Leandro Trossard
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne – Arsenal Writer
If Lionel Messi and Neymar taught us anything at the World Cup, it’s that the best penalty takers should come out first to give the team a good start. With that in mind, Bukayo Saka and Jorginho (if they’re on the pitch) should be one and two, although I wouldn’t mind if they change the order.
Then I’ll take Reiss Nelson. This may come as a bit of a surprise, but he successfully converted his penalty in the aforementioned Community Shield shootout win for Arsenal over Liverpool and the fact that he’s promoted first that afternoon is testament to his place three would feel comfortable.
Gabriel Martinelli has one Arsenal goal in a penalty shootout on his CV although he might not even be on the pitch at the end of extra time I would pick Fabio Vieira by four as he has scored 16 goals in his career so far then Gabriel Jesus at five, hopefully to seal the victory.
In a sudden death scenario where the next goalscorer needs to score to potentially keep the Gunners in the game but preferably to win the tie, I’m looking for someone to step up and smash their penalty right down the middle and take the honor would have pounced on Kieran Tierney.
Arsenal’s Deniran-Alleyne’s penalty takers vs. Sporting CP (in order): 1. Bukayo Saka, 2. jorginho, 3. Rice Nelson, 4. Fabio Viera, 5. Gabriel Jesus
Sudden Death Pick: Kieran Tierney
CONTINUE READING:
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Rio Ferdinand is urging two Manchester United stars to follow Leandro Trossard’s Arsenal example
Arsenal clean up as big winners Arteta, Odegaard, Saka and Ramsdale at the London Football Awards