Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar has had his say on the Gunners being held to a 2-2 draw by Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League last night.
The Brazilian was in attendance at the Estádio José Alvalade in the Portuguese capital where William Saliba gave us the lead. However, two sloppy moments allowed the hosts to go ahead.
Granit Xhaka‘s deflected strike levelled the game in the end, and the tie will have to be decided at the Emirates next week.
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Edu Gaspar reacts to Sporting Lisbon 2-2 Arsenal
Mikel Arteta made six changes for the game against Sporting yesterday, but Arsenal still looked strong.
Jakub Kiwior was handed his debut, while Matt Turner, Jorginho, Granit Xhaka, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira all started the game in Portugal yesterday.
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That, unsurprisingly, caused a bit of imbalance, especially in the first half. There was a serious lack of cohesion, particularly in defensive transitions, and Sporting could’ve easily scored two or three more goals.
Arsenal, however, had plenty of chances too. Gabriel Martinelli should’ve scored a couple of his own, while Fabio Vieira could’ve found the net too.
A draw, in the end, is probably a fair result, and Edu doesn’t seem too annoyed.
“We keep going,” he wrote on Instagram after the draw last night.
The Insider’s View:
Arteta would’ve ideally liked to seal the tie in the first leg last night, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Arsenal had plenty of chances to finish off the game, but an argument can be made that we were a bit lucky to come away with a draw, as Sporting could’ve scored a couple more goals themselves.
The game at the Emirates next week is a massive one now, but we will go into the fixture as the favourites. We have been incredibly strong at home, and if we play at our usual level, we should be able to win quite comfortably.
Up next for Arsenal is a London derby against Fulham on Sunday, and Arteta will demand a response.
