Why Arsenal fans should be happy with drawing Sporting Lisbon in Europa
Considering who else we could have played against in the last 16 of the Europa League, it’s fair to say Arsenal will be content with having to beat Sporting Lisbon over two legs to advance to the QFinals.
When previewing our potential opponents, I ranked Lisbon as the ideal opponent second only to Donetsk.
From Sporting’s point of view, we would have been seen as their worst-case scenario.
The Lions, one of Portugal’s traditional Big Three who have never been relegated from the top division, ended a nearly two-decade title drought in 2019, something the Gunners are aiming for.
There are similarities between their Primera Liga triumph and what Arteta is trying to achieve.
Like our manager, Ruben Amorim was hired with little experience and surprised many by building a championship-winning team.
His hiring policy was based on a certain age and the 38-year-old was credited with bringing out the best in talent many didn’t think was possible.
Of course, there’s been a hangover since then, but the consensus is that many have now worked out for the Leos.
As has been their culture for years, the club has developed so much talent and turned a healthy profit.
However, their fans feel that the last batch of stars they lost have not been adequately replaced, hurting their chances of competing. Paulinha was sold to Fulham in the summer while fans felt lied to and were promised they would not have to accept offers for Nunes should the deal go. He went to Wolves leaving a gaping hole in midfield. Pedro Porro was the last big name to leave in January.
An obvious link between the two clubs is Hector Bellerin, who joined Portugal at the turn of the year. Hopefully, when he returns in March, he’ll get the respectful farewell he never got from Gooners.
The top three clubs in Portugal qualify for the Champions League.
Sporting, currently fourth in their domestic league, 8 points adrift of third, may need to win the European Championship to ensure they are back in UEFA’s elite competition next season. With a 13-point lead over fifth place, there’s less pressure on us. We want to win the Europa League; It has to be sporty.
Sporting are still in Europe based on finishing third in the Champions League group in which they were competitive.
Her 7 points included a win over Spurs, a draw in lane and a win in Germany. That win in Frankfurt was a rare away win as they traditionally don’t do well in Europe.
If it were a one-off draw, we could be caught off guard at the Estadio, especially if we rotate our squad. But we should be too strong on two legs.
It remains to be seen how seriously we take this competition. A trip to Fulham is sandwiched between the ties, with Palace at home three days after Lisbon is in north London.
It did us no good by essentially jeopardizing our place in the FA Cup and it can be argued that by continuing to win we can build momentum.
Likewise, our domestic interests must be our priority, and you can understand why Saka, Saliba, Partey, Odegaard, etc. are being wrapped in cotton wool. We could even use these two contraptions to give Smith Rowe and Jesus a run.
I think we can play our fringe players in the first leg and know that in the second leg we can bring back our big hitters if that backfires.
Dan