Arsenal slip back into entertaining chaos as Sporting exploit Mikel Arteta’s changes
The Europa League won’t be the competition that defines Arsenal’s season but aside from the pressure of the title race, Mikel Arteta could still have had an easier night than this. After making six changes to his squad to face Sporting, the Arsenal manager saw an evening of control and authority in Lisbon spiral into the highly entertaining chaos of a knockout duel. After a 2-2 draw, next week’s crucial second leg will fall between Premier League games against Fulham and Crystal Palace, which is clearly where Arteta’s priorities should lie.
Arteta used the opportunity to rest key players like Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Aaron Ramsdale and a strange game at the Estadio Jose Alvalade was rather summed up by Arsenal being bright and sharp in attack while being sloppy in defence. Substitute goalkeeper Matt Turner had a particularly difficult evening, rusting in his first appearance in six weeks. After failing to control his box from a corner and Goncalo Inacio headed in Sporting’s equalizer from less than six yards out, the American put the ball back into danger for Paulinho’s second-half rebound.
Arsenal showed resilience to come back and avoid defeat. Gabriel Martinelli, revived after being taken off the team by Arteta, was superb while Fabio Vieira, who is now the only Arsenal player to appear in every Europa League game this season, was another promising performance showed. Martinelli was particularly dangerous, nearly scoring one of the season’s goals with a solo run from the halfway line only to thwart a slipping Jeremiah St Juste.
It came as Paulinho put Sporting ahead and the midfielder then missed a glorious chance to add a third after being played on target. Paulinho’s finish was wild and went over the bar, and Arsenal received another stroke of luck when Granit Xhaka’s long-range shot was deflected off the back of Sporting’s Hidemasa Morita. Lucky as it was, the goal had come and Martinelli and Vieira were also thwarted by goalkeeper Adan in a wild post-half period.
How Arsenal found themselves in that position after their start will certainly be explored by Arteta, who at times watched with a worried look. It is certainly worrying that Sporting have added to the list of set goals Arsenal have conceded since the turn of the year. They’ve made it at least four, with the Gunners also conceding from either a corner or free-kick against Everton, Brentford and Bournemouth in recent weeks.
Arsenal had sauntered through the first half with the authority and dexterity of the league leaders, only to find themselves lost. Of course, this is due to the changes Arteta made, although given Arsenal’s position in the title race, the Spaniard certainly could not have taken a different approach. Arteta has shown such consistency with his team in the Premier League, with eight players in all 26 games, but it’s clearly not sustainable to continue that approach in Europe.
Turner’s performance can be attributed to rust, as well as the simple and obvious fact that the 28-year-old is nowhere near the level of Aaron Ramsdale. Unless Ramsdale suffers an injury in their last 12 games, there shouldn’t be much cause for concern for Arsenal fans.
However, it underscores the importance of Arteta’s squad players being ready to jump in and make a difference when needed as they prepare for such an important stretch of the season. Reiss Nelson demonstrated last weekend’s impressive performance against Bournemouth, which he won from the bench. The winger earned a start in Lisbon but failed to find another peak here.
Vieira, who started for the second consecutive year on his return to Portugal, continued to show he was ready to play a role. It was his corner that set up William Saliba’s opener – a goal as soft as the one conceded by Arsenal moments later – amid a brilliant performance. Vieira and Martinelli exchanged ominous exchanges at times, while Buakyo Saka – who lasted the 90 minutes to make Sunday’s upcoming trip to Fulham – quiet. Jakub Kiwior made his £16million debut after joining from Spezia in January and for the Poland international his performance wasn’t, at least, as memorable as Turner’s.
Sporting have shown enough to suggest they will make the second leg uncomfortable at the Emirates next week. They had won four straight games before Arsenal but their disappointing season was reflected in the many empty pitches in Lisbon. Your performance deserves more support. Marcus Edwards, the former Tottenham talent, was yet another standout player and if Arsenal aren’t careful they could be upset next week. The Premier League remains their priority but Arsenal need more cohesion if they are to remain in Europe this season.