Arsenal

Arsenal dey meet with Sporting Lisbon by 6:45 pm WAT for di Estadio Jose Alvalade.

- Paulinho - Edwards - Coates - Adan - Martinelli - Vieira - Xhaka - Zinchenko - Turner Marcus Edwards almost enta Paulinko but Turner fix am. Sporting don collect ball and Arteta dey shout for im head. FULL TIME: Di game for Portugal don end as Arsenal carry draw comot.

Arsenal are in control of their Europa League destiny after drawing Sporting CP in Portugal. But are set pieces becoming a legitimate worry?

Arsenal's William Saliba on the result: "Today it wasn't an easy game but we scored the first goal and then they brought it back to 1-1 and then made it 2-1. There was inevitably a little less fluidity to Arsenal's play -- especially with so many key players including Gabriel, [Thomas Partey](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/189972/Thomas-Partey) and Odegaard not involved from kick-off -- and at 2-1 down, [Paulinho](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) missed a glorious chance to give the tie a completely different complexion. Arteta on the team's performance: "Considering that we conceded two goals away from home and you still come away with a draw, you have to take some positives. [Sporting CP](/soccer/team?id=2250) forward [Marcus Edwards](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/225552/Marcus-Edwards). Obviously, the second goal was lucky but Martinelli was through on goal and had a big chance. [Paulinho](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) gave the home side the lead 10 minutes after the restart before [Gabriel Martinelli](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/269844/Gabriel-Martinelli) almost scored a sublime solo goal, dribbling from inside his own half and rounding Sporting goalkeeper [Antonio Adan](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/101871/Antonio-Adán), only for [Jeremiah St. Overall, it's everything to play for and we have to play at the Emirates." Once other teams, analysts and coaches see a potential weakness, you are going to have to nip that in the bud." Sporting CP: Leões continue in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, hosting Boavista on Sunday, March 12. Arsenal restored parity on 62 minutes when [Sporting CP](/soccer/team?id=2250)'s [Hidemasa Morita](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/270752/Hidemasa-Morita) suffered the misfortune of diverting [Granit Xhaka](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/149981/Granit-Xhaka)'s pass into his own net. They required a couple of slices of luck -- none more so than their second equaliser ricocheting off Morita via a hopeful aggressive pass from Xhaka. Juste](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/215524/jerry-st-juste) to make a last-ditch intervention.

Arsenal captain Odegaard travelled to Portugal despite feeling unwell but will not feature for Mikel Arteta's side at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Advertisement.

We deal with that and tomorrow everybody will be in the best possible condition to compete.” [Fulham](https://theathletic.com/football/team/fulham/) on Sunday. He has however been deemed fit enough to start.

Premier League leaders Arsenal did enough to hold Sporting Lisbon to a 2-2 draw in a lively first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

Register for free to Reuters and know the full story Victor Boniface opened the scoring for the visitors in the 28th minute and Josip Juranovic levelled just before the break. In Germany, Belgian side Royale Union almost shocked Union Berlin, who are third in the Bundesliga and had to fight back to earn a 3-3 draw after going behind three times.

Premier League leader Arsenal was held 2-2 at Sporting Lisbon in their Europa League round-of-16 first-leg match Thursday.

The two sides already met in the group stage this season. Bayer Leverkusen had the same advantage over Ferencváros after their first-leg game. Manu Trigueros put Villarreal - a Champions League semifinalist last season, ahead in the first half before Anders Dreyer tied it at 1-1 with a second-half goal for Anderlecht in the draw in Brussels. Substitute Sven Michel salvaged a 3-3 draw for Union Berlin against Union Saint-Gilloise with a goal a minute from the end in the German capital. The defender headed in the opener for Arsenal from a corner from Fábio Vieira to capitalize on early pressure in the 22nd. Hidemasa Morita's own goal in the 62nd minute salvaged the draw for Arsenal ahead of the return leg at Emirates Stadium next Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Portugal created Fabio Vieira the footballer and tonight he comes home with Arsenal in the Europa League last 16. This is his story...

At the very end, he forced a penalty because he was trying to sprint against the wind and at the last minute he realised the defender was going to arrive first. “We looked at Fabio, he was still on the floor and he looked at us and smiled realising, ‘Oh, I got the penalty’. And I also wanted him close to the goal, because he has a really good shot on him. So he just gave a small touch to the ball and the guy went through him. “I’ll give you an example: if I asked the boys to do a drill and then asked Fabio to explain it to his team-mates, he might not have been able to do it. “That season there was a rough game because contrary to the rest of Portugal, there is always really bad weather in Rio Ave (a short drive north of Porto along the coast). “The game was still 0-0 because it was so hard to attack with the ball always in the air with strong winds. That’s the best way to describe Fabio as a personality and a player.” He made a crucial contribution to breaking down Wolves’ deep block in November, assisted twice against Oxford United in the [FA Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/fa-cup/) and made a telling impact against [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) in the league last month. “My idea was to make a tournament with three teams in the middle of training. I reached Fabio at the end of the choosing process and told him, ‘Now I want to see if you’re capable of winning the tournament or not’. I was looking at him in the middle of the choosing process and he started to realise what I wanted to do.

We recommend that travelling Arsenal supporters purchase tickets in the standing section and congregate together within the stadium.

Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club plc. - Tickets from £4 - Walton Hall Park

Sporting Lisbon midfielder Hidemasa Morita scored a freak own goal to help Arsenal claim a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 ...

Manchester United bounced back from a historic thrashing by Liverpool to beat Real Betis 4-1 in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie on Thursday ...

Arsenal's set piece failings could cost them more than a Europa League quarterfinal spot after Sporting draw ... Before the World Cup Arsenal's defensive ...

This is a team hell-bent on lifting the 19-year weight of expectations to be crowned the best in England. Sporting made the most of the chances Arsenal gave them to hit the sucker punch, a strong start to the second half undone by Paulinho on the break. Arsenal remains firmly in the tie but the errors they make and the goals they score on nights like this one are scarcely about the Europa League. But for most of this contest, the visitors were in the ascendancy, dominating possession and leading the battle for shots. Perhaps the simplest explanation is the most convincing here, that the end of the more settled side that Arsenal had between August and late January has brought a little more confusion to dead ball defense. "Turner has to come out and clatter everyone and clear the ball," she added. The Gunners tend to operate a hybrid between zonal and man-to-man systems, the exact makeup of which will vary in line with the opposition. Opponents are not necessarily creating a greater volume of opportunities but they are getting the sort of can't-miss headers that Arsenal were so good at taking away in the early months of the season. On this particular set piece, Thomas Partey acts like a man who has been clearly assigned to guard Senesi but fails to battle through the bodies. The easy answer to this would be to turn to the set piece coach, Nicolas Jover, and ask what he has done wrong. Every once in a while a giant such as Luuk De Jong is going to rise too high for anyone to defend but the Gunners were exceptional at winning the first header and blocking out opposition runners. Heck, sometimes you just run into a collection of very tall footballers wearing the colors of Everton and Brentford.

Indecision plagued a performance that struggled to get off the ground, and that cost Mikel Arteta's side in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

Two of those players and the still-injured [Gabriel Jesus](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-jesus-lmzbBZ9WUccDYEbt/) were not available to add to the absences of Tierney and Odegaard. And it was in the closing stages of 2021-22 that Xhaka was first used in his more advanced role before hitting his stride during the first half of this campaign. Maybe it does not need to, but Arsenal’s second-string need to be better than they have been this season. This was a theme that also caused their levels to dip in early February, with the inactivity in defence coming to the fore as they trailed 2-1 at half-time of a 4-2 away win over [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) — both Villa goals coming from a lack of intensity off the ball. If we don’t expose them (the players who came into the team) though, that’s never going to happen.” That moment of indecision lost Gabriel valuable seconds and, despite winning a throw-in, the Sporting player doing the pressing managed to keep Arsenal penned in. The groundwork was laid two years ago when Arteta first trialled Arteta’s six changes to his starting XI were mostly expected. Arsenal’s determination to take the initiative has carried them through some tough moments of late, but indecision, combined with tired legs meant that did not happen late on here. When the ball was lost in midfield minutes later, however, the defence backpedalled. Martinelli had two chances go astray (both courtesy of Zinchenko deliveries) while Vieira saw a snapshot flash just wide. “When you concede two poor goals, like we did, away from home in Europe it’s very difficult to get a positive result.

Mikel Arteta has been well-backed during his time at Arsenal, but he's also had to say goodbye to some high-profile stars over the years.

The 27-year-old has settled into life in Turkey well as he is a regular starter for Okan Buruk’s side. But the German goalkeeper has reminded us all of just how good he is though after a great start to life at Fulham. With 14 goals so far, he’s scored more than Lionel Messi and Neymar in the league this season. We’ve revisited the six players that Arsenal let go in 2022 and checked out how they’ve fared since. For the players that left departed year, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. After spending his last couple of seasons out on loan while at Arsenal, Torreira made the permanent switch to Galatasaray in the summer.

Arsenal returns from Europa League play in Portugal to visit Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League's latest London derby.

Premier League leaders have several fitness concerns ahead of a London derby, including their captain.

Granit Xhaka said the pressure has ramped up on Arsenal as they fight for the Premier League title but believes they have the mentality to cope.

But as long as you get the result, nobody will ask you at the end of May." But everything starts at the front, if nobody or not all of us are ready on this level, you get punched." We have to respect all the opponents, even if I think there is a good mentality in the team and let's try to keep that. But in general, I think we are doing well. However, Arsenal have shown greater resilience so far this season, and Xhaka said: "You can see that every team is playing different against us.

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka believes the team's success has brought increased pressure — but their “good mentality” is helping them cope.

“Leo (Trossard) as well is injured and he can play in this position. But in general, I think we are doing well. [Gabriel Martinelli](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-martinelli-NsmAJRRvnAnaLr6r/) up front against Sporting, with regular strikers [Gabriel Jesus](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-jesus-lmzbBZ9WUccDYEbt/) and [Eddie Nketiah](https://theathletic.com/football/player/eddie-nketiah-DEv6ydhcRGewFPXs/) out injured. [Brazil](https://theathletic.com/football/team/brazil/)’s [World Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/world-cup/) group game against [Cameroon](https://theathletic.com/football/team/cameroon/) in November, Xhaka added: “Because we lost Eddie as well, it’s much more important to have Gabi back. [Europa League](https://theathletic.com/football/europa-league/) round-of-16 tie. [Arsenal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/arsenal/) midfielder [Granit Xhaka](https://theathletic.com/football/player/granit-xhaka-701HGKSsMRGk4Bry/) believes the team’s success has brought increased pressure — but their “good mentality” is helping them cope.

Watch all the best of the action from our game against the Portuguese giants at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club plc. However, Granit Xhaka’s shot spun off Hidemasa Morita and into the corner of the net to help ensure we went into the second leg at Emirates Stadium next week level pegging, and you can see that as well as everything else by watching the bitesize package above, with an extended cut and full match halves to come. Thursday night saw us battle it out with Sporting CP to claim a 2-2 draw in the Europa League, and you can see the best of the action in our highlights package.

Arsenal news: The Gunners resume their Premier League title ambition this weekend at Fulham in their fourth game of March already.

[Leandro Trossard](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-trossard-replacement-gabriel-jesus-26406734) and [Eddie Nketiah](https://www.football.london/profile/eddie-nketiah-injury-sporting-arsenal-26407153). [Granit Xhaka excited for imminent Gabriel Jesus return with Arsenal in line for triple boost](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-jesus-arsenal-return-xhaka-26438537) [Arteta made six changes to the side that came from 2-0 down to defeat Bournemouth at the weekend](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arteta-arsenal-star-trust-sporting-26437073). [There was no room for Gabriel Jesus in the matchday squad](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-jesus-arsenal-return-xhaka-26438537) despite participating in training. The forward has now featured in the last three games for the Gunners after missing the whole of February. It remains to be seen when the left-back will recover and return to the matchday squad. [Mikel Arteta's ](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/fixtures-results/mikel-arteta-shouted-ben-white-26435483)weren't at their usual best at the Estadio Jose Alvalade and were punished for their continued defensive issues against Ruben Amorim's side. The pair were nowhere to be seen on Thursday after Arteta's comments pre-game. He's very positive about it and hopefully he'll be fine." "We are assessing him," Arteta said on Nketiah. There had been optimism he would maybe feature on Thursday following his intensity in training but next week's return leg now looks the perfect chance. Arsenal were fortunate not to fall two goals down with Paulinho sent a wayward effort wide before Hidemasa Morita's own goal levelled the scoreline. [The Gunners](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/) drew 2-2 with the Portuguese outfit to position themselves in good stead to qualify for the [Europa League quarter-finals](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-europa-league-prize-money-26257789) in the return leg next week.

Leandro Trossard is doubtful after injuring his groin against Bournemouth and Eddie Nketiah could miss out with an ankle injury. Manager Mikel Arteta has hinted ...

- Manor Solomon could become the first Fulham player to score in five consecutive Premier League matches. Leandro Trossard came off injured against the Cherries and Eddie Nketiah has lost his way a bit. - Arsenal have scored three winning goals in the 90th minute or later in the Premier League this season, all of which have come in their last eight fixtures. I really enjoyed watching the Gunners last week. Playing in the Europa League on Thursday is going to be a distraction for Arsenal but they have to focus on the Premier League now - when are they going to be in a position like this again? - The Gunners have the best away record in the Premier League, winning 10 of their 13 matches.

Fulham host Premier League leaders Arsenal in this London derby at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. Can Mikel Arteta's side win yet again?

Their most likely league finish is 10th (28.1%) or ninth (25.8%) while they still have a 0.6% chance of finishing in the top five. Fulham have lost just three of their 13 Premier League home games this season (W6 D4), going down to Newcastle, Man Utd and Spurs. Fulham’s poor Premier League record against the Gunners, coupled with four consecutive home defeats against them help to fuel this outcome. Manor Solomon has scored in each of his last five appearances for Fulham across all competitions (five goals). Bukayo Saka may have only turned 21 years old in September, but he’s already one of the best talents in the Premier League. Solomon, who had to deal with a knee injury that kept him out for the bulk of the Premier League action before the turn of the year after signing on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, has arguably been Fulham’s key player in 2023. These three winners have all come in their last eight games (against Man Utd, Aston Villa and Bournemouth). Fulham’s defence has been impressive since the return of the Premier League post-World Cup on Boxing Day. This has helped the Gunners win a league-high 15 points from losing positions so far this term. The exceptions in this run were victories in March 2006 (vs. This was also the Serbian’s 100th goal in all competitions for Fulham. They have won all four of their away Premier League London derbies this season by an aggregate score of 8-0.