Arsenal 1 – 1 Sporting
It was penalty shootout heartbreak for Arsenal at the end of an epic Europa League last-16 tie with Sporting, as Gabriel Martinelli’s shot was saved from the spot to allow the Portuguese side to progress to the quarter-finals after the sides had drawn 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.
Even before the shootout, which the visitors won 5-3, it was a second leg that had it all. Arsenal had looked on course to qualify relatively comfortably when Granit Xhaka tucked in the rebound from Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half shot but the Gunners failed to fire at all in the second half and were pegged back in sensational style by Pedro Goncalves’ outrageous lob from the centre circle.
With Aaron Ramsdale scrambling back into his own goalmouth in vein, it was a strike which would have had Arsenal fans thinking of Nayim’s 1995 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup Final goal past David Seaman.
The drama kept coming, with Leandro Trossard’s shot pushed onto a post in extra-time before Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan made another super stop to keep out Gabriel’s header, with the Arsenal defender denied in the 120th minute by a goal-line block from Diomande before the visitors’ Manuel Ugarte was sent off.
But in the end, Sporting prevailed. With a five point lead in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s men must focus all of their energies on domestic matters.
The draw for the Europa League quarter-finals take place at 12pm UK time on Friday March 17 in Nyon, Switzerland at UEFA’s headquarters. The semi-final draw will also be made. You can follow the draw with Sky Sports’ live blog.
When are the quarter-finals?
The first legs of the quarter-finals will be played Thursday April 13.
The second legs will be played Thursday April 20.
When are the semi-finals?
The first legs of the semi-finals will be held on May 11, and the second legs on May 18.
When is the final?
The final takes place on May 31 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
What’s next?
Arsenal are back in Premier League action on Sunday at 2pm when they host Crystal Palace. Watch free highlights of that match on the Sky Sports website, App or YouTube page.
