Gunners lucky to walk away from Lisbon with 2-2 draw

In the first leg of the round of 16 for the Europa tournament, Sporting Lisbon hosted Arsenal in a game that saw the Gunners making six changes from the previous weekend game.

The Gunners’ performance was lacklustre as they seemed to be expending more energy on ineffective movements that failed to yield desirable outcomes.

Adding to their struggles, Sporting displayed remarkable speed and agility, flitting around like houseflies while Arsenal appeared slower and more lumbering like an elephant.

Despite the challenging match, Arsenal managed to salvage a draw with a 2-2 scoreline, which was fortunate considering the circumstances.

Fabio Vieira – Taking over Martin Odegaard’s position in the game was a daunting task for Fabio Vieira. Additionally, Martinelli was still adjusting to his role as a striker, making it a challenging situation.

Vieira found it difficult to keep up with the striker’s movements and had trouble anticipating his runs. Towards the end of the second half, Vieira appeared to be playing the role of a false nine, which made for uncomfortable viewing as he was frequently overpowered when receiving the ball with his back facing the goal.

Jakub Kiwior – The Polish made his debut for Arsenal in a match against Sporting Lisbon. However, he did not showcase enough of the long diagonal passes that had impressed fans via YouTube when he was announced as a transfer.

In addition, Kiwior appeared to be at fault for the first goal conceded by Sporting, as he failed to jump and contest the ball, allowing Gonçalo Inácio a free header from a corner kick.

In all honesty, his performance was reminiscent of Pablo Mari’s.

It remains to be seen if he can compete with Gabriel for the left centre back position, but Arsenal fans are hopeful that he will improve.

Matt Turner – Being the preferred goalkeeper for Europa games thus far, Turner made a few impressive saves during the match. However, he could have exhibited greater authority in his penalty area, particularly during defensive set pieces.

In my opinion, he seemed to prioritize playing out from the back with short passes instead of opting for a more direct approach of clearing the ball up the field.

It would be harsh to attribute all the blame to Turner though, as the absence of Partey and Big Gabi made the team less stable.

We wish Turner the best, and hope he is able to reflect and work on improving his performance.

GunnerBanana’s POV

Our objective in traveling to Portugal was to maintain the squad’s fitness and offer more playing opportunities to players who are typically underused.

While we are unsure if Arteta prioritized winning the game, our dear Gunners were fortunate to walk away with a draw.

Hopefully, those who didn’t make the trip were able to rest and recover, allowing us to concentrate on our next league match.

We’re looking forward to playing Sporting again next week and hoping for a decisive victory.