Sporting Lisbon 2-2 Arsenal: Three Things We Learned

Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal played out an entertaining 2-2 draw last night in their UEFA Europa League knockout tie.

While many degrade the competition, there are still 16 clubs ready to try and go all the way in the Europa League – and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Sporting and Arsenal are arguably two of the favourites to win the trophy and on Thursday, they put on a real clinic in Portugal.

Following the 2-2 result, we took a look at a few of the big takeaways we had from the result.

Defensive frailties

After initially taking the lead, Arsenal were undone by two goals from Sporting that could’ve, and probably should’ve, been avoided. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was the first man to call his team out for their shoddy defensive performance, with this marking the second straight game in which they’ve conceded two goals. If they really want that title, they need to sharpen up – and fast.

Sporting’s peak?

This isn’t the same Sporting Lisbon team that it was a few years back when they lost just one game in th league all season. Their fans know that, but even so, it’s still a talented squad that they have at their disposal. They really did put it all on the line in front of their home supporters but the big worry is that it may have served as the best they can do. When they head back to the Emirates, they’ll need to be gutsy.

Balancing act

Winning the Premier League title is the priority for Arsenal Football Club this season and that much is clear for everyone to see. With that being said, the Europa League is an honour they’ve been chasing down for quite some time now, and we don’t exactly think Arteta would mind going deep into the competition. It’s a tricky balance for him to get right, though, and it’ll be interesting to see how he copes with the continued pressure.