3 positives & negatives from the 2-2 draw against Sporting CP

Arsenal originally took the lead through a towering William Saliba header, only to later find themselves needing to come from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw in Lisbon against Sporting CP. 

Having taken a 1-0 lead, many of us would have expected the team to push on and grab a second, perhaps even a third and make the second leg a far easier encounter. However, sloppiness, particularly in defence, at the wrong times allowed Sporting to grow in confidence and given how the rest of the match panned out, a 2-2 draw was a fair result.

3 positives and negatives from the 2-2 draw against Sporting

Positive #1:  William Saliba & Fabio Vieira shine

While we would all rather be competing in the Champions League, the Europa League does provide Mikel Arteta with the perfect competition to allow young players to grow their European football experience.

Two players in particular, William Saliba and Fabio Vieira were especially impressive on Thursday night. Aside from just his goal, Saliba showed once again why he is one of the most exciting young centre-backs in world football. He marshalled Sporting’s forwards excellently and was the embodiment of a ‘Rolls Royce’ defender.

Vieira, on the other hand, was silky in attack and performed well in the number ten role. From the right-hand side especially, the 22-year-old whipped a series of superb crosses into the box, however, a lack of a target man in the box meant many of those opportunities came to nothing. Despite that, he played very well and he certainly has the potential to become an integral member of this Arsenal side.

Negative #1: Another corner goal conceded

For much of Arteta’s reign, we have been incredibly well-organised during opposition set-pieces, however, in recent months, our standards have slipped ever so slightly.

This has been highlighted this week more than any other. Bournemouth scored from a corner at the weekend, and Sporting did the same in this match too – one of our greatest strengths is slowly becoming a dangerous weakness.

Of course, it is worth noting that our back five, including the goalkeeper, had seen two changes which disrupted the defensive harmony. But, this is an issue that Arteta and his coaching staff must act on quickly to ensure it does not become a hindrance in our bid to win both the Premier League title and the Europa League.

Speaking after the game, Arteta conceded that the team needs to improve in this area.

"“Sometimes the opponents and really good at what they do. When they get the delivery right, in the right space, it’s just half a centimetre sometimes whether you get that header out of the box or if it goes in. It’s true that it’s something that we must improve dramatically in the next few games if you want to keep winning games.”"