10 March 2023 , 04:00
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Arsenal can consider themselves fortunate to be coming away from Sporting with a draw after the two sides played out a thrilling Europa League encounter that ended 2-2 in Lisbon.
The Gunners actually took the lead via a William Saliba header, but the hosts drew level around 10 minutes later after Goncalo Inacio scored an almost identical goal. Soon into the second-half Sporting were in front after Paulinho tapped home from close range, but Granit Xhaka's cross being deflected into the opposition net by Hidemasa Morita spared Arsenal's blushes.
With the honours even, the tie is nicely balanced ahead of next Thursday's round-of-16 second-leg under the lights at the Emirates.
Mirror Football has highlighted some of the main headlines surrounding Arsenal on Friday, March 10.
Jakub Kiwior hardly had a debut to remember for ArsenalKiwior's shaky debut
Wenger breaks silence on Arsenal visit as he doubles down on title prediction
Jakub Kiwior was finally handed his first chance in an Arsenal shirt after arriving in January but hardly enjoyed a dream debut.
Starting in place of Gabriel Magalhaes, Kiwior looked sharp on the ball but left plenty to be desired from a physical perspective. The Poland international seemed to shy away from trying to head the ball clear for Sporting's equaliser.
The Poland international's positioning could also be questioned for the host's second as well, as he found himself on the wrong side of the attacker.
He was eventually replaced with around 20 minutes left to play as Arteta opted to prematurely end an underwhelming first game for the £21million addition.
Mikel Arteta called on his side to improve their defending from set-pieces (Twitter/@btsportfootball)Arteta spots weakness
The Gunners boss has warned his players that their ability to defend set pieces needs to drastically improve ahead of a huge run of fixtures that could shape the title race.
In recent weeks, Arsenal have conceded set-pieces against Everton, Brentford, and Bournemouth and saw that trend continue in Lisbon for Sporting's first.
Following the full-time whistle, Arteta was asked if it is a mounting concern, to which he explained: "It is something we must improve, dramatically, in the next few matches if we want to be winning games.
"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."
Read Arteta's assessment
Mikel Arteta told what could derail title bid - "They'd struggle to replace him"
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were praised by their opposition before the game against SportingGunners duo dubbed 'best in Europe'
Speaking before Thursday night's draw, Sporting defender Jerry St. Juste explained how Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are two of the best wingers in Europe at the moment.
Asked if he was relishing the challenge and if the pair were at the top of their game, he claimed: "Yeah, I think so. They have a lot of quality and they prove that weekly at the highest level so it’s going to be an exciting challenge."
In truth, Sporting managed to nullify the threat of Saka better than many Premier League teams have this term, with the England ace struggling to get to grips with the game.
As for Martinelli, the Brazilian was actually on the verge of scoring a remarkable solo goal before some last-gasp intervention from St. Juste himself, who proceeded to celebrate his tackle as he had scored.
Find his comments in full