The fourth game of our Europa League journey this season saw us remain top of the group and guarantee our spot in the next round, in the most undeniably boring fashion unfortunately.
Early domination saw us create a few half chances early on, the game started to take shape as a bit of a practice drill for Arsenal, keeping possession and trying to break through the well parked bus of defenders that Sporting had set out. It was clear from the off that Sporting had come for a point. The games major talking point came midway through the second half, when striker Danny Welbeck, who had probably looked our most threatening player so far in the game, suffered a horrific injury. The shocked look on Matteo Guendouzi's face said it all as Welbeck was taken off on a stretcher whilst being fed oxygen. The rest of the first half carried on very quietly and it appeared the players may have been slightly affected by the injury of their teammate. Arsenal failed to create a clear cut chance in the first half, and the second half continued much the same, Iwobi with a few dangerous runs, and a disastrous volley effort from Jenkinson was really all there was to see. Kolasinac looked a threat bombing down the left when he came on but ultimately we did not have the creativity to break through the Sporting lines, evidently the side lacked the spark of players such as Ozil and Xhaka. Late on in the second half Aubameyang was put through one on one with the keeper, and was brought down from behind just outside of the opposition goal box, which saw the Sporting defender sent off. The resulting free kick sailed over the bar and that was our last real chance in a dull match overall, but it is enough to take our unbeaten streak to 15, so there is not too much to complain about at a side that had 9 changes from the weekends starting 11.
Player Ratings:
Petr Cech: 7
Was troubled very little, and dealt with everything when called upon, not much more to say regarding our keeper tonight.
Stephan Lichtsteiner: 7
Looked pretty decent on the right tonight up until he came off, got up and down well and dealt with everything he needed to defensively.
Sokratis: 7.5
A composed performance, made a few tasty challenges and won everything in the air. Probably the best of the backline tonight.
Rob Holding: 7
Carried on his solid form this season with a calm and overall sufficient performance, as we are coming to expect from the young player under Emery.
Carl Jenkinson: 6.5
In all honesty he was decent, did his jobs and got up the field pretty well especially playing on the his non preferred flank, but had to mark him down half a point for that hilarious volley attempt.
Matteo Guendouzi: 7
Spread the play well, showed his usual energy and willingness to try things. Lacked a bit of creativity in the final third.
Aaron Ramsey: 6
Had hoped for a bigger performance from someone trying to get himself back into the starting lineup, lacklustre performance but with no glaring mistakes or issues.
Emile Smith-Rowe: 6
Not as involved in the game as you would like to see, shows flashes of promise and is only a youngster, it will come for him.
Alex Iwobi: 7.5
My man of the match on the night, still lacked the end product, but showed the most threat and intensity throughout the night.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 5
Poor in the final third and was dispossessed often. Really needs to find some form if he is to win over the Arsenal fans, has been poor this season.
Danny Welbeck: N/A
Not going to rate his performance, it is a huge shame for Welbeck to face yet another injury in his career, and likely this one could be the worst of the lot. And at such an important point of his career, we can only hope for the best and wish him a speedy recovery.
Substitutes:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 6.5
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 6.5
Looked a threat in the game but the defence was most often sitting too deep for him to get in behind. Had a big one on one chance that was taken from him by a last man challenge unfortunately.Sead Kolasinac: 6.5
Looked quite promising up and down the left flank, cause the Sporting defence a few problems.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: N/A
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: N/A
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