“Considering you concede two goals away from home and still escape with a draw you have to take some positives,” the Arsenal manager tells BT Sport. “We gave them too much hope by giving the ball away in our own half too many times. We had control for long periods but we lacked a bit of that final touch but we are missing four key attackers so we will take the draw.
“At 2-1 we lose the runner and they had a chance to make it 3-1 a lot of things to improve but we showed a lot of resiliency and we are still in the tie. Making six changes you lose a bit of the cohesion but we had to make the changes because some are unavailable and others had to play out of position but they did well.”
William Saliba speaks: “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,” the Arsenal goalscorer tells BT Sport. “As always we never give up and we scored the second goal. We have a game back home and we will give everything to win. We conceded two goals and the most important thing is that we didn’t lose and we have another game. It is okay, we wanted to win here but we didn’t lose and we have to focus on the next game and we are lucky to play at home. We will try to win again.”
Europa League: “This will have made stressful viewing for a manager who values control as much as Mikel Arteta,” writes Nick Ames from Estadio Jose Alvalade. “For neutrals it was fine entertainment, though, and Arsenal can at least reflect they are just about in the box seat for a place in the quarter-finals.”
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over in Lisbon, where Arsenal have been held by their Portuguese hosts. They went ahead through William Saliba, only for Sporting to equalise through Goncalo Inacio. After the break and against the run of second-half play, Sporting went ahead through Paulinho, only for Arsenal to restore parity through a fortuitous own goal from Hidemasa Morita. It’s all square ahead of the second leg at the Emirates and one suspects Sporting will be the happier of the two sides.
90+2 min:Arsenal huff and puff in search of a winner as the game approaches the final couple of minutes of added time. They’ll be happy enough with tonight’s result but one suspects Mikel Arteta would have hoped his side might bring a sizeable lead back to the Emirates for the second leg.
87 min: Fabio Vieira goes to ground in the Sporting penalty area and claims a penalty but there was no foul by Diomande, who stood his ground as the Arsenal man tried tried to dart past him.
83 min: Emile Smith-Rowe picks out Vieira with his back to goal on the edge of the Sporting penalty area. Diomande doesn’t give him an inch and the Portuguese is unable to turn.
78 min: Following several breaks in play for medical attention and substitutions, Arsenal win a free-kick wide on the right. Emile Smith-Rowe curls the ball into the penalty area, where the ref spots a foul and signals for a Sporting free-kick.
65 min: Moments before that Arsenal equaliser, Paulinho should have put Sporting 3-1 up. Cleran through on goal with only Matt Turner to beat, he curled his shot wide of the upright when the goal seemed at his mercy. I didn’t have high hopes for this game ahead of kick-off but it’s turned into a cracking contest.
Arsenal equalise! Morita caps a miserable couple of minutes with an own goal. From outside the Sporting penalty area, Xhaka was trying to send a cross towards Martinelli. The ball struck Morita, who was facing his own goal on the edge of his own penalty area and somehow had the legs to creep in the bottom corner past the hopelessly wrongfooted Adan. That’s so unlucky.
Arsenal's Granit Xhaka after drawing level courtesy of an own goal. Photograph: Pedro Nunes/Reuters
59 min: Martinelli bursts into the Sporting half with the ball at his feet, riding a tackle from Morita, who had to be careful. Clean through on goal with only Antonio Adan to beat, the Brazilian takes the ball past the advancing goalkeeper but is denied by an incredible saving tackle by the rapidly retreating Jeremiah St Juste. The defender and his teammates celebrate his defending as if they’ve just scored a goal.
58 min: Hidemasa Morita is booked for a foul on Vieira, a caution which means the Sporting midfielder will miss the return leg along with his captain, Sebastian Coates.
Sporting go ahead! It’s a superb goal. On the right side of the penalty area, Edwards plays a low weighted diagonal ball into the path of Goncalves, who burst between two defenders to unleash a shot from close range. Hopelessly exposed, Turner saved superbly but could only parry the ball into the path of Paulinho, who rifles home the rebound from close range.
Paulinho beats Matt Turner to give Sporting the lead. Photograph: Armando França/AP
52 min: Zinchenko crosses from the left but his delivery is a mite too high for Martinelli, who gets his head to the ball but can’t keep his effort from sailing over the bar.
49 min: Fabio Vieira shoots narrowly wide of the upright with a low effort from distance. Arsenal have come roaring out of the traps in this second half.
48 min: Martinelli darts on to a lovely disguised pass into the SPorting penalty area from Zinchenko. He lifts the ball over the advancing Adan but it bounces wide. Was he offside? I think so.
47 min: Excellent play from Paulinho, who canters down the inside left, ignores options in the form of Trincao and Edwards in the penalty area and elects instead to cut inside and shoot. Matt Turner punches his effort clear and the ball breaks to Hidemasa Morita. His first time effort sails straight into the gloves of Turner.
Peep: Referee Tobias Stieler brings a reasonably entertaining first half to a close and it’s all square between the two sides. William Saliba headed Arsenal in front and they were bossing the game until Sporting equalised against the run of play with an almost idential goal. Having won a corner when his fearsome drive from distance was tipped around the post for a corner, Goncalo Inacio headed his team level from the resulting set-piece.
45+2 min: There’s a minor panic in the Arsenal penalty area as Matt Turner sells William Saliba short with a pass to the edge of the penalty area. Marcus Edwards nps in to steal the ball away from the Arsenal defender but his first touch sends the ball straight back to Turner. A let-off for Arsenal.
45 min:Arsenal are back in the control of the game and Adnan is forced off his line to deal with a Xhaka cross. He collides with Reiss Nelson and goes down holding his shoulder. Moments later, he’s back on his feet.
41 min: A Fabio Vieira cross from the right is aimed towards Granit Xhaka but headed out for another Arsenal corner. Xhaka gets his head to the inswinger and Adnan just about stops his downward header from creeping over the line. As he rushes to throw the ball downfield, Gabriel Martinelli knocks it out of his hands, prompting a furious outburst from the Sporting goalkeeper. Martinelli gets booked but seems to be insisting that the referee has got the wrong man. I’m pretty sure the Brazilian was bang to rights but he’s arguing so vociferously that he’s planted a seed of doubt in my mind. Remember that if you’re ever on trial and I’m on the jury.
39 min: Their tails up, Sporting advance again. Marcus Edwards cuts inside on his left foot and unleashes a low drive that Turner is once again forced to tip around his upright. Arsenal manage to clear this corner courtesy of a Turner punch.
