GABRIEL MARTINELLI’s missed penalty saw Arsenal dumped out of the Europa League following a shootout.
A staggering Pedro Goncalves equaliser from the centre-circle cancelled out Granit Xhaka’s opener before Nuno Santos delivered the knockout blow in the shoot-out to dump Arsenal out of Europe.
After a slow start had the home support on edge, not helped by the early loss of Takehiro Tomiyasu to injury, Arsenal started to click.
Fabio Vieira found his way in down the right but correctly saw his shout for a penalty denied. Moments later Jorginho found Gabriel Martinelli with an inspired through ball.
The Brazilian raced through one-on-one but fired straight Antonio Adan in the Sporting goal. Xhaka was quicker on his feet than any in green and white, smashing a low strike home to nudge the hosts ahead.
Arsenal dropped far deeper after their goal with Sporting’s forwards exposing them with their pace on a number of occasions.
The Portuguese side threw everything at their hosts following the break, piling the pressure on before bagging a freak goal.
Jorginho and Xhaka exchanged a sloppy one-two in midfield, allowing Goncalves to steal in before eyeing up a vacant Arsenal goal and lifting the ball just over Ramsdale from a staggering 46 yards.
Arteta sent on Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka but neither could prevent them from needing extra time.
The former almost flashes in a stunning winner after sub Leandro Trossard had seen an extra-time effort tipped onto the post.
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Gabriel saw two headers denied late on before Manuel Ugarte was shown a second yellow for a reckless challenge on Saka.
There was not enough time for Arsenal to use their man advantage, and Sporting then punished them from 12 yards.
Arsenal converted three spot kicks before Martinelli missed and Santos capitalised to send his side through to the last eight.
Aaron Ramsdale – 6
Arguably Arsenal’s best player despite the way he conceded the equaliser.
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The England man was just about staying sharp and focused as chaos unfolded ahead of him following injuries disrupting the back line.
But he was drawn into the mess after being caught well off his line for the stunning Sporting leveller.
Ramsdale made a brave and sharp save with his face from Marcus Edwards minutes later to keep it level and recovered well from the embarrassing moment, though should have done better with a couple of the Sporting penalties.
Takehiro Tomiyasu – n/a
Forced off through injury inside ten minutes.
William Saliba – 6
Another, potentially more serious blow for the Gunners with the Frenchman limping off following the opening goal.
Hadn’t had too much to do before then.
Gabriel – 6
Had to battle to hold things together for the most part, getting through his own injury scare early in the first half.
Was only able to watch the equaliser sail over his head and past Ramsdale, but kept things tighter at the back from there on and twice could have won it in extra time when his powerful header forced a flying save from Adan.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 5
Quickly rallied the troops following Goncalves’ equaliser and spent most of the evening holding on in a non-stop battle with former Tottenham man Marcus Edwards.
Struggled to take control of the game in his usual role moving inside from full-back.
Jorginho – 5
Tested the Sporting defence with an early ball over the top for Jesus early on before cutting them open to find Martinelli in the build up to the opening goal.
Struggled to get a grip with the Sporting midfield from there on, however, and was caught out messing about with the ball before losing it to hand over possession before Sporting’s goal.
Granit Xhaka – 6
The captain was the sharpest in the box to race onto the loose ball following an effort from Martinelli and fire the Gunners ahead.
Poor ball back to Jorginho on halfway allowing Sporting to pinch possession and bag their equaliser.
Fabio Vieira – 5
A lively start petered out very quickly. Wasn’t doing too much to get back and when Arsenal were on the ball he wasn’t holding onto it long enough to give the boys at the back a breather.
Tried his luck with a low free-kick but sent it straight at the goalkeeper before wasting a golden chance moments into extra time.
Reiss Nelson – 5
Tracked back to help out the back line well and often but was sloppy on the ball and offered precious little going forwards.
Gabriel Martinelli – 4
A good run the in the build up to the opener, which he should have tucked away himself.
Could have offered far more support to Zinchenko with Sporting’s pacey forwards causing trouble.
Proved to be a thorn in the side for Sporting on the break throughout the second half, causing problems on the ball and frustrating them by going down at every opportunity.
Sent a poor penalty in the perfect spot for Adan to palm it away.
Gabriel Jesus – 6
Looked sharp and utterly desperate to score early on.
A few good touches and runs, but certainly more to come as he gets back up to speed.
Arsenal lost a lot of confidence on the ball without their star man.
Substitutes
Ben White (on for Tomiyasu, 8 mins) – 6
Needed to be more aggressive up against the Sporting forwards, allowing them far too much time to cause problems.
Drove forward when he could but was largely wasteful with the ball.
Rob Holding (on for Saliba, 21 mins) – 3
Looked off it as soon as he came on for the injured Frenchman. Couldn’t cope with the pace of Sporting’s forwards and struggled to stay organised at the back.
Twice missed headers from long balls which could have caused real trouble for Ramsdale behind him.
Leandro Trossard (on for Jesus, 45 mins) – 5
Offered preciously little after being sent on to lead the line. Struggled to cause any real trouble for the Sporting defenders and never looks the best option to hold the ball up and bring others into play.
Fluffed his lines after being sent through on goal by a horror back-pass from Sporting’s Youssef Chermiti, his effort being tipped onto the post.
Thomas Partey (on for Jorginho, 66 mins) – 6
Helped calm things down after replacing the former Chelsea man, taking the pressure off the back line and giving his side much more control on the ball.
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Bukayo Saka (on for Nelson, 66 mins) – 6
Helped wrestle control back and brought some life to a limp attacking display in the second half but failed to have the real sort of impact required.
Martin Odegaard (on for Vieira, 100 mins) – 7
Pumped up the crowd and called for more as soon as he was sent on and tried to lift the players in the same way. Smart penalty.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
