Sporting CP 1-5 Arsenal - 3 takeaways from five-star Gunners display

Arsenal produced a scintillating first-half against Sporting CP, which proved to be the catalyst for a 5-1 thumping of the Portuguese champions.

Dare we say it, but the international break has proved to be the perfect tonic for Arsenal as two of its best performances of the season have come in the last few days.

The Gunners were irrepressible in the first-half against Sporting, racing out to a 3-0 with Mikel Arteta's team playing exceptional football.

It was as dominant as the Gunners have looked in quite some time, and maybe, just maybe, their arrow is now trending in the right direction.

Here are three takeaways from the Lisbon rout.

Partey time

Whisper is quietly, but Thomas Partey looks to be back to his best in a Gunners shirt.

The Ghanian was impressive against Sporting, releasing the pressure valve for his team with some well-timed long balls, and the little dink for Bukayo Saka to tee up Kai Havertz's goal to double Arsenal's lead was a thing of beauty.

He's been injury-prone, but lately, there's a revival happening. An in-form Thomas Partey is a game-changer.

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