Arsenal

Premier League leaders Arsenal did enough to hold Sporting Lisbon to a 2-2 draw in a lively first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

Register for free to Reuters and know the full story Victor Boniface opened the scoring for the visitors in the 28th minute and Josip Juranovic levelled just before the break. In Germany, Belgian side Royale Union almost shocked Union Berlin, who are third in the Bundesliga and had to fight back to earn a 3-3 draw after going behind three times.

Portugal created Fabio Vieira the footballer and tonight he comes home with Arsenal in the Europa League last 16. This is his story...

At the very end, he forced a penalty because he was trying to sprint against the wind and at the last minute he realised the defender was going to arrive first. “We looked at Fabio, he was still on the floor and he looked at us and smiled realising, ‘Oh, I got the penalty’. And I also wanted him close to the goal, because he has a really good shot on him. So he just gave a small touch to the ball and the guy went through him. “I’ll give you an example: if I asked the boys to do a drill and then asked Fabio to explain it to his team-mates, he might not have been able to do it. “That season there was a rough game because contrary to the rest of Portugal, there is always really bad weather in Rio Ave (a short drive north of Porto along the coast). “The game was still 0-0 because it was so hard to attack with the ball always in the air with strong winds. That’s the best way to describe Fabio as a personality and a player.” He made a crucial contribution to breaking down Wolves’ deep block in November, assisted twice against Oxford United in the [FA Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/fa-cup/) and made a telling impact against [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) in the league last month. “My idea was to make a tournament with three teams in the middle of training. I reached Fabio at the end of the choosing process and told him, ‘Now I want to see if you’re capable of winning the tournament or not’. I was looking at him in the middle of the choosing process and he started to realise what I wanted to do.

We recommend that travelling Arsenal supporters purchase tickets in the standing section and congregate together within the stadium.

Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club plc. - Tickets from £4 - Walton Hall Park

Indecision plagued a performance that struggled to get off the ground, and that cost Mikel Arteta's side in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

Two of those players and the still-injured [Gabriel Jesus](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-jesus-lmzbBZ9WUccDYEbt/) were not available to add to the absences of Tierney and Odegaard. And it was in the closing stages of 2021-22 that Xhaka was first used in his more advanced role before hitting his stride during the first half of this campaign. Maybe it does not need to, but Arsenal’s second-string need to be better than they have been this season. This was a theme that also caused their levels to dip in early February, with the inactivity in defence coming to the fore as they trailed 2-1 at half-time of a 4-2 away win over [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) — both Villa goals coming from a lack of intensity off the ball. If we don’t expose them (the players who came into the team) though, that’s never going to happen.” That moment of indecision lost Gabriel valuable seconds and, despite winning a throw-in, the Sporting player doing the pressing managed to keep Arsenal penned in. The groundwork was laid two years ago when Arteta first trialled Arteta’s six changes to his starting XI were mostly expected. Arsenal’s determination to take the initiative has carried them through some tough moments of late, but indecision, combined with tired legs meant that did not happen late on here. When the ball was lost in midfield minutes later, however, the defence backpedalled. Martinelli had two chances go astray (both courtesy of Zinchenko deliveries) while Vieira saw a snapshot flash just wide. “When you concede two poor goals, like we did, away from home in Europe it’s very difficult to get a positive result.

Mikel Arteta has been well-backed during his time at Arsenal, but he's also had to say goodbye to some high-profile stars over the years.

The 27-year-old has settled into life in Turkey well as he is a regular starter for Okan Buruk’s side. But the German goalkeeper has reminded us all of just how good he is though after a great start to life at Fulham. With 14 goals so far, he’s scored more than Lionel Messi and Neymar in the league this season. We’ve revisited the six players that Arsenal let go in 2022 and checked out how they’ve fared since. For the players that left departed year, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. After spending his last couple of seasons out on loan while at Arsenal, Torreira made the permanent switch to Galatasaray in the summer.

An own goal by Hidemasa Morita helps Arsenal level up. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Arsenal were level just after the hour mark, though, when Granit Xhaka tried to find Martinelli but Morita deflected the ball into his own net to leave the game on a knife-edge in the second leg. Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan did well to deny Gabriel Martinelli early in the second half, and his team capitalised to take the lead. It was his centre-back partner William Saliba who headed home from Fabio Vieira’s corner to put Arsenal ahead after 22 minutes at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon.

Mikel Arteta warned Arsenal must "dramatically improve" their set-piece defending and avoid conceding cheap goals to stay on track this season.

It's true that it's something we must improve dramatically in the next few games if we want to keep winning." [Paulinho](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) gave the home side the lead 10 minutes into the second half with a close-range finish before [Hidemasa Morita](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/270752/Hidemasa-Morita) suffered the misfortune of diverting [Granit Xhaka](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/149981/granit-xhaka)'s pass into his own net just after the hour mark. "Today we didn't defend that well enough and we have to be better at threatening the opponents as well. "Sometimes the opponents are really good at what they do. We spoke about the importance of boxes, especially in a competition when you're in or out. If we don't expose them though that's never going to happen.

Arsenal are in control of their Europa League destiny after drawing Sporting CP in Portugal. But are set pieces becoming a legitimate worry?

Arsenal's William Saliba on the result: "Today it wasn't an easy game but we scored the first goal and then they brought it back to 1-1 and then made it 2-1. There was inevitably a little less fluidity to Arsenal's play -- especially with so many key players, including Gabriel, [Thomas Partey](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/189972/Thomas-Partey) and Odegaard, not involved from kickoff -- and at 2-1 down, [Paulinho](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) missed a glorious chance to give the tie a completely different complexion. [Sporting CP](/soccer/team?id=2250) forward [Marcus Edwards](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/225552/Marcus-Edwards). Arteta on the team's performance: "Considering that we conceded two goals away from home and you still come away with a draw, you have to take some positives. [Paulinho](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) gave the home side the lead 10 minutes after the restart before [Gabriel Martinelli](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/269844/Gabriel-Martinelli) almost scored a sublime solo goal, dribbling from inside his own half and rounding Sporting goalkeeper [Antonio Adan](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/101871/Antonio-Adán), only for [Jeremiah St. Obviously, the second goal was lucky but Martinelli was through on goal and had a big chance. Overall, it's everything to play for and we have to play at the Emirates." Once other teams, analysts and coaches see a potential weakness, you are going to have to nip that in the bud." Arsenal restored parity on 62 minutes when [Sporting CP](/soccer/team?id=2250)'s [Hidemasa Morita](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/270752/Hidemasa-Morita) suffered the misfortune of diverting [Granit Xhaka](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/149981/Granit-Xhaka)'s pass into his own net. He completed 31 of his 39 passes, but only 67% of those were in the final third. Juste](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/215524/jerry-st-juste) to make a last-ditch intervention. [William Saliba](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/277385/William-Saliba) opened the scoring with a 22nd-minute header from [Fábio Vieira](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/88865/Fabio-Vieira)'s corner before Sporting scored a similar goal at the other end 12 minutes later as [Gonçalo Inácio](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/304106/Gonçalo-Inacio) glanced home [Marcus Edwards](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/225552/Marcus-Edwards)' delivery.

Arsenal returns from Europa League play in Portugal to visit Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League's latest London derby.

In a thrilling encounter at the weekend, League leaders Arsenal head to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham in the Premier League.

Gabriel Jesus has been out with an injury for a while now, and it is likely that the case remains to be the same in the coming months. Mitrovic has performed well in the Premier League and his form will once again play a crucial role in the fixture. Joao Paulinha on the other hand will be out with a suspension, after picking up yet another yellow card. He has linked well with Saka, Nketiah, and Trossard making Arsenal a big threat when on the attack. Currently, Fulham occupies the seventh position in the league table, trailing the top four by just six points. The defeat to their west London rivals ended their eight-match unbeaten run.

Arsenal have conceded four goals in two games after shipping two apiece against Bournemouth and Sporting Lisbon; Mikel Arteta insisted his side must improve ...

We made a lot of changes today and sometimes that takes time to get that cohesion. "We had some positives because we showed a lot of resilience to get back in the game," he continued. You could feel in the first 15 minutes that it needed some time to adapt and click. "But we need to defend our box much better and we have to be in the return leg to beat them. "In other moments we had total control of the game and we lost a little bit of threat today, especially with the four players we are missing in our frontline. Mikel Arteta urged his much-changed Arsenal side to improve 'massively' after they needed to fight back to earn a scrappy 2-2 draw with Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

Details for Emirates clash. We can now confirm ticket details and sale dates for our Premier League fixture against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday ...

£10.00 Juniors aged 16 and under £16.50 Young adults aged 21 and under £16.50 Seniors aged 65+

Watch all the best of the action from our game against the Portuguese giants at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club plc. However, Granit Xhaka’s shot spun off Hidemasa Morita and into the corner of the net to help ensure we went into the second leg at Emirates Stadium next week level pegging, and you can see that as well as everything else by watching the bitesize package above, with an extended cut and full match halves to come. Thursday night saw us battle it out with Sporting CP to claim a 2-2 draw in the Europa League, and you can see the best of the action in our highlights package.

Arsenal news: The Gunners resume their Premier League title ambition this weekend at Fulham in their fourth game of March already.

[Leandro Trossard](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-trossard-replacement-gabriel-jesus-26406734) and [Eddie Nketiah](https://www.football.london/profile/eddie-nketiah-injury-sporting-arsenal-26407153). [Granit Xhaka excited for imminent Gabriel Jesus return with Arsenal in line for triple boost](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-jesus-arsenal-return-xhaka-26438537) [Arteta made six changes to the side that came from 2-0 down to defeat Bournemouth at the weekend](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arteta-arsenal-star-trust-sporting-26437073). [There was no room for Gabriel Jesus in the matchday squad](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-jesus-arsenal-return-xhaka-26438537) despite participating in training. The forward has now featured in the last three games for the Gunners after missing the whole of February. It remains to be seen when the left-back will recover and return to the matchday squad. [Mikel Arteta's ](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/fixtures-results/mikel-arteta-shouted-ben-white-26435483)weren't at their usual best at the Estadio Jose Alvalade and were punished for their continued defensive issues against Ruben Amorim's side. The pair were nowhere to be seen on Thursday after Arteta's comments pre-game. He's very positive about it and hopefully he'll be fine." "We are assessing him," Arteta said on Nketiah. There had been optimism he would maybe feature on Thursday following his intensity in training but next week's return leg now looks the perfect chance. Arsenal were fortunate not to fall two goals down with Paulinho sent a wayward effort wide before Hidemasa Morita's own goal levelled the scoreline. [The Gunners](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/) drew 2-2 with the Portuguese outfit to position themselves in good stead to qualify for the [Europa League quarter-finals](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-europa-league-prize-money-26257789) in the return leg next week.

Granit Xhaka said the pressure has ramped up on Arsenal as they fight for the Premier League title but believes they have the mentality to cope.

But as long as you get the result, nobody will ask you at the end of May." But everything starts at the front, if nobody or not all of us are ready on this level, you get punched." We have to respect all the opponents, even if I think there is a good mentality in the team and let's try to keep that. But in general, I think we are doing well. However, Arsenal have shown greater resilience so far this season, and Xhaka said: "You can see that every team is playing different against us.

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka believes the team's success has brought increased pressure — but their “good mentality” is helping them cope.

“Leo (Trossard) as well is injured and he can play in this position. But in general, I think we are doing well. [Gabriel Martinelli](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-martinelli-NsmAJRRvnAnaLr6r/) up front against Sporting, with regular strikers [Gabriel Jesus](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-jesus-lmzbBZ9WUccDYEbt/) and [Eddie Nketiah](https://theathletic.com/football/player/eddie-nketiah-DEv6ydhcRGewFPXs/) out injured. [Brazil](https://theathletic.com/football/team/brazil/)’s [World Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/world-cup/) group game against [Cameroon](https://theathletic.com/football/team/cameroon/) in November, Xhaka added: “Because we lost Eddie as well, it’s much more important to have Gabi back. [Europa League](https://theathletic.com/football/europa-league/) round-of-16 tie. [Arsenal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/arsenal/) midfielder [Granit Xhaka](https://theathletic.com/football/player/granit-xhaka-701HGKSsMRGk4Bry/) believes the team’s success has brought increased pressure — but their “good mentality” is helping them cope.

Fulham host Premier League leaders Arsenal in this London derby at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. Can Mikel Arteta's side win yet again?

Their most likely league finish is 10th (28.1%) or ninth (25.8%) while they still have a 0.6% chance of finishing in the top five. Fulham have lost just three of their 13 Premier League home games this season (W6 D4), going down to Newcastle, Man Utd and Spurs. Fulham’s poor Premier League record against the Gunners, coupled with four consecutive home defeats against them help to fuel this outcome. Manor Solomon has scored in each of his last five appearances for Fulham across all competitions (five goals). Bukayo Saka may have only turned 21 years old in September, but he’s already one of the best talents in the Premier League. Solomon, who had to deal with a knee injury that kept him out for the bulk of the Premier League action before the turn of the year after signing on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, has arguably been Fulham’s key player in 2023. These three winners have all come in their last eight games (against Man Utd, Aston Villa and Bournemouth). Fulham’s defence has been impressive since the return of the Premier League post-World Cup on Boxing Day. This has helped the Gunners win a league-high 15 points from losing positions so far this term. The exceptions in this run were victories in March 2006 (vs. This was also the Serbian’s 100th goal in all competitions for Fulham. They have won all four of their away Premier League London derbies this season by an aggregate score of 8-0.

Arsenal's Reiss Nelson, left, challenges for the ball with Sporting's Pedro Goncalves, right, and Sporting's Jeremiah St. Juste during the Europa League round ...

“We had periods in the game where we were in a lot of control,” reflected Arteta after the match, adding “but we lacked a little bit of strength in the final third because we had to adjust today with the players we did not have available. Despite plenty of endeavour in the closing stages, along with a raft of substitutes, this tie looks evenly set in London next Thursday, after an absorbing draw here in the Portuguese capital. Equally concerning was the bizarre way new Serie A arrival Kiwior ducked out of the way of the ball en route to Inacio. While the former Spezia defender appeared to have a handy burst of pace when required, it was his abject failure to contest for the ball in his own workplace that lingered long in the memory, his baffling bungle prompting serious fears over his viable, long-term future rather than any misplaced hilarity at such a revealingly poor vignette into his defensive ability. Amorim’s side rallied, with 21-year-old Goncalo Inacio testing Turner with a low shot from outside the area that the US keeper did well to turn away for a corner. If balmy sunshine on the Iberian peninsula — rather than snow in Britain — was the order of the day, there were to be no last-minute fireworks to match the intensity of last weekend's improbable comeback against Bournemouth to speak of.

After Reiss Nelson's 97th-minute goal to put Arsenal 3-2 up, their bench rushed onto the field at the Emirates Stadium in celebration. Referee Chris Kavanagh ...

[Fulham](https://theathletic.com/football/team/fulham/) at Craven Cottage on Sunday. [Manchester City](https://theathletic.com/football/team/manchester-city/) at the top of the [Premier League](https://theathletic.com/football/premier-league/) and manager Mikel Arteta was asked about the wild celebrations after the game [Arsenal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/arsenal/) will not face any further action from the FA for their celebrations during their late win over [Bournemouth](https://theathletic.com/football/team/bournemouth/) last Saturday.

All the latest Arsenal news including reaction from the Europa League round of 16 first-leg draw against Sporting CP, along with updates on William Saliba, ...

[has impressed for Arsenal Under-21s despite](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/fixtures-results/arsenal-sporting-zinchenko-vieira-draw-26435654) finding it hard to break into the first team given the strong parternship between Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Martinelli and Saka have proven to be crucial players for [Mikel Arteta this season](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/fixtures-results/mikel-arteta-fabio-vieira-arsenal-26435410), each scoring 11 times to sit joint top of the club's scoring charts. "I'm thinking that I'm going to have to go and head things because I can't necessarily trust him. We spoke about the importance of boxes, especially in a competition when you’re in or out." Despite a shaky debut for the Gunners, Kiwior's centre-back partner has now defended him with Saliba admitting he thought the young Polish defender played well. Arsenal head back to the Emirates Stadium with plenty of positives following their 2-2 draw in the Europa League last-16 first-leg clash against Sporting CP.

Arsenal news: The Gunners are preparing for a huge match against Fulham this weekend as they look to continue their push for the Premier League title.

Palhinha has been a sensation since joining from Sporting CP in the summer, with his absence leaving huge boots to fill for Silva. However, Arteta's side may have been handed a slight boost going into the game as Marco Silva is set to be without one of his side's key players. The west London outfit have impressed this season and could create a difficult game for the Gunners to find their way through. It's those fine margins that appear to be giving the north London outfit an edge and they may need a few more of those in their favour come late May. With just a few months remaining in the campaign and five points between the two sides, Mikel Arteta will need every bit of help he can get to ensure they get over the line. [Arsenal ](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arteta-neville-arsenal-city-title-26443800)are in the midst of one of their biggest Premier League season for years, sitting top of the table in a title race against Manchester City.

FOOTBALL: Arsenal travel to Fulham in the latest test of the Gunners' Premier League title credentials this weekend as Manchester City aim to ramp up the ...

Fulham v Arsenal (9pm) Tottenham v Nottingham Forest (10pm) Leicester v Chelsea (10pm) Leeds v Brighton (10pm) Everton v Brentford (10pm) At the bottom of the table, nine clubs are separated by just six points.