Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Sporting CP: Player ratings as Gunners exit Europa League

By James Cormack

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Pedro Goncalves of Sporting CP celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 leg two match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Pedro Goncalves of Sporting CP celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 leg two match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal exited the Europa League on Thursday night as Sporting CP beat the Gunners 5-3 on penalties after the two sides couldn’t be separated on aggregate.

The visitors displayed the confidence that was on show for large swathes of the first leg in the opening exchanges but they failed to test Aaron Ramsdale before Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal the lead on the night.

https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1636479018672300034

The Gunners asserted their superiority thereafter before Sporting closed out the opening period strongly. Their dominance continued into the second half, and they snatched a deserved equaliser on the hour with a remarkable halfway-line strike from the excellent Pedro Goncalves.

That levelled the tie and the confident Portuguese side smelt blood. Thus, Mikel Arteta was forced into action and brought on Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka. Those alterations initially struggled to turn the tide, however, as Ramsdale was forced into action to deny Marcus Edwards one-vs-one.

A tense epilogue followed, but neither side were able to find a winner as the contest headed into extra time. Ruben Amorim’s changes limited the visitors in the extended period as Arsenal eventually took control, but they struggled to piece it together in the final third after Leandro Trossard hit the post.

Penalties were required to separate the two sides and Martinelli’s miss with Arsenal’s fourth kick proved decisive.

Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Sporting CP player ratings

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from Thursday night’s bout.

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – 6/10 – Caught out from the halfway line but made a monster save (with his face) to deny Marcus Edwards soon after. Safe hands throughout, but poor in the shootout.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – N/A – Forced off in the opening stages.

William Saliba (CB) – N/A – Another who was withdrawn early due to injury. Supporters will be sweating over his status.

Gabriel (CB) – 7.5/10 – The Brazilian made a couple of timely interventions to deny Paulinho. Rarely flummoxed in possession, and was one of few stable forces for the Gunners.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) – 5/10 – Struggled in the first leg and wasn’t too much better here. Wasn’t particularly influential with the ball, and was caught out a couple of times by Sporting’s directness in possession.

Continued on the next slide…