The Europa League will not be the competition that defines Arsenal’s season but away from the pressure of the title race, Mikel Arteta still could have done with an easier night than this. After making six changes to his team to face Sporting, the Arsenal manager saw an evening of control and authority in Lisbon slip into the highly entertaining chaos of a knockout tie. After a 2-2 draw, next week’s deciding second leg will fall in between Premier League fixtures against Fulham and Crystal Palace, where Arteta’s priorities should clearly lie.
Arteta took the chance to rest key players, including 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 simultaneously sloppy in defence. The stand-in goalkeeper Matt Turner had a particularly difficult evening and was rusty on his first appearance in six weeks. After failing to command his penalty area at a corner, allowing Goncalo Inacio to head in Sporting’s equaliser from less than six yards, the American pushed the ball back into danger for Paulinho’s second-half rebound.
