Arsenal escaped defeat in the Europa League thanks to a counter-kick
True to his pre-match statements, coach Mikel Arteta launched a strong squad towards victory. Pillars such as Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka or Oleksandr Zinchenko combined with reserve goalkeeper Matt Turner and Jakub Kiwior - a central defender bought from Spezia with $ 27 million with his first game for Arsenal.
However, the game at Jose Alvalade was balanced when the two teams tit for tat. Arsenal had 68 per cent possession, 14 shots on target with seven shots on target - compared to 10 and six for the opposition.
Sporting created the first chance with Pedro Goncalves' right-footed cut off the far post, but it was Arsenal who scored first. 22 minutes, Fabio Vieira cornered the right wing for William Saliba to head high to the near corner, defeating goalkeeper Antonio Adan.
This is the French midfielder's first goal in the Europa League, after two goals in the Premier League - in defeats against Bournemouth and Brentford with a score of 3-0 in 2022. Meanwhile, Vieira has a third assist. six in all competitions this season - a stat just behind Bukayo Saka (9).
More than ten minutes later, Sporting equalized under the same scenario. From the corner on the right, Marcus Edwards hung just enough for Goncalo Inacio to head across the corner, causing Turner to stumble. In the second minute of compensation, the American goalkeeper made a mistake when he missed a pass while leaving the goal, allowing Paulinho to cut the ball. But his teammates did not have time to react, causing Paulinho's pass to be caught by Turner himself.
In the second half, Arsenal entered the game better and created a series of opportunities. In the 48th minute, Gabriel Martinelli picked up the ball from Zinchenko and then hit the ball and couldn't win against Adan. A minute later, the Brazilian striker released the ball for Vieira to shoot with his left foot, which missed the post.
In the 55th minute, Edwards dropped the ball for Goncalves to press Kiwior's face and then hit the corner, which was blocked by Turner. But the ball went to the right range for Paulinho to cushion the empty net. Paulinho is the second player to score against both Arsenal and Tottenham in a single European season (excluding qualifying), after Youssef El Arabi for Olympiakos in the 2019-2020 season. When attending the Champions League group stage, the Portuguese striker scored to help Sporting defeat Tottenham 2-0 also at Jose Alvalade's home ground in September 2022.
In the 61st minute, Sporting missed the opportunity to increase the distance when Paulinho corrected himself in the face of Turner. Wasting the opportunity, the Portuguese representative immediately had to pay the price. A minute later, Granit Xhaka had a fairly open ball in the middle and shot from outside the box without hitting the target. But the ball hitting Morita changed direction, making Adan unable to react. The Sporting players thought that Saka had committed a foul in the previous challenge, but the referee did not give a penalty.
In the 71st minute, Arteta changed three positions in a row, when he threw Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey and Emile Smith-Rowe into the field. However, the two teams did not create any dangerous opportunities for more than 20 minutes remaining.
With a 2-2 draw result and the away goal rule no longer applied, the opportunity to continue is still wide open for both Arsenal and Sporting, when the two teams rematch at the Emirates Stadium on March 16. Four days earlier, the "Gunners" will be Fulham's guest in the 27th round of the Premier League, while Sporting will receive Boavista in the 24th round of the Portuguese league.
