Arsenal fall short in Europe again
Arsenal 1 Sporting Lisbon 1 (aet, Sporting win 5-3 on penalties)
Europa League Round of 16 – 2nd Leg
Thursday 16th March 2023 8pm
A blessing in disguise? Time will tell. Arsenal have not won a European trophy for 29 seasons now, and a grand total of two in the club’s history feels like a meagre return. It would have been something to celebrate, but given the choice between being eliminated now or losing in, say a semi-final, I suspect most fans would see the bigger picture and sacrifice ultimately fruitless progress to aid the Premier League campaign. Does the blow of elimination knock that back in any way? Well, the half hour of extra time was something the team could have done without, and with Palace perhaps recruiting a new manager in time for Sunday, that fixture might prove to be far more difficult than the win at Fulham.
We will find out soon enough, but if Mikel Arteta’s team can secure the three points, then the international break comes at a good time. It will provide a rest for the players not called up and even the ones that are will likely feel less pressure for the time they are away. It does feel that a win against Palace is vital. I recall the game at Birmingham City in late February 2008. Arsenal could have gone eight points clear, but drew in dramatic circumstances. Still six points clear they imploded, failing to win any of their next four league fixtures and going out of the Champions League quarter final to Liverpool. Palace will surely come to frustrate, nobody needs a crystal ball to see that, but Arsenal simply have to find a way of getting over the line. If they can do it without a struggle, all the better, but however they do it, they have to win the points.
Sporting gave a decent account of themselves in both legs of this tie. Arteta named a good enough eleven to win last night, even if there were four players who wouldn’t start normally. Two first half injuries were a concern and we wait to see the fallout. Tomiyasu went off first, to be replaced by Ben White, followed by Saliba, which meant an extended runout for Rob Holding. Jesus started, although his replacement at half time by Trossard suggested the plan was always to give him a half of football as he is eased back to match fitness.
By the time of the interval, Arsenal were a goal up, Xhaka following up well when Martinelli’s shot was saved. It was a bit of a disjointed performance. The team doesn’t feel as efficient when Vieira starts, and Reiss Nelson did not contribute hugely. The front three of Martinelli, Jesus and Nelson have likely never started a game together before. Given Arteta always seems to start Saka, it was a surprise to see him given a rest, but there is no argument his absence weakens the side.
The away goals rule is no longer in operation which is a shame as it would have meant Arsenal progressing after 90 minutes. Sporting scored a bit of a wonder effort from long range when Goncalves caught Ramsdale off his line with a speculative shot from just inside the Arsenal half, reminiscent of Anders Limpar’s wonder goal at home to Liverpool back in 1992 (or Beckham v Palace for slightly younger readers). One goal leads in European ties are fragile things and nothing can be taken for granted.
Many may recall a Europa League exit against Olympiacos early in Arteta’s reign. I bet without emotion and during that game, I saw the odds on the Greek side qualifying seemed very generous, so stuck an insurance bet on. This early in the second half with the aggregate score at 1-0 to Arsenal due to an away win in the first leg. The Greeks just needed to score once to level the tie and then it was a matter of going through on either away goals or penalties, and the Gunners’ defending and general approach to the game wasn’t filling me with certainty. Olympiacos won the game 2-1 in extra time and progressed thanks to the away goals rule – can’t remember how much I won, but it was a tidy sum.
Last night with Arsenal leading 1-0, the odds on Sporting qualifying were 9-1. They just needed to score once to make that a distinct possibility and you could see it happening. They mounted a number of dangerous attacking forays over the course of the evening. I stuck £10 on, hoping to lose it, but on the basis that the odds were a little unrealistic given what I was witnessing on the pitch. It turned into some unwanted compensation at the end of the evening.
The Gunners should have won this game with the amount of efforts on goal they notched up, and there were a couple of occasions where actually just shooting instead of some clever flick that didn’t come off would surely have been the better option. Viera was guilty for one of these and I think Odegaard might have been the other (even if he only entered the fray for the final 20 minutes of extra time).
Arteta brought on Partey and Saka for Jorginho and Nelson after Sporting had equalised after 61 minutes. There were great chances for both sides to settle the tie. Trossard just the keeper to beat, but saw his shot deflected onto the post, and Sporting’s Edwards, the former Spurs youth, saw his shot hit Ramsdale in the face to deflect it wide. Much like the first leg, a pretty open game.
The rain unleashed for a spell in the second half, exposing a particularly unfortunate weak spot in the roof above the east stand at the halfway line, creating a huge cascade of water onto an area at the front of the lower tier which was quickly vacated. Never mind the exterior murals, time to fix the stadium roof!
At the end of goalless extra time, the draw meant a penalty shoot-out took place at the Clock End. Ramsdale guessed well and came close to saving a couple of the efforts, but ultimately, when Martinelli’s kick – Arsenal’s fourth - was saved, it just meant the Sporting needed to convert their next one to go through, which duly happened. There is, perhaps, a debate to be had about the merits of Mikel Arteta in these two-legged European ties. He did win three of them – v Benfica, Olympiacos (ironically) and Slavia Prague in the 2020/21 season before losing to Villarreal in the semi-final, so the jury is out. Round of 16 exits to Olympiacos and Sporting Lisbon though do not make a strong case for him.
It must be acknowledged that he plays weakened line-ups in Europe for entirely understandable reasons, and people asking him to start his strongest eleven last night are missing the mark. The back-up players need to be as match fit as possible in case they are needed to start matches. And in terms of priority, the league is simply more important. In the quarter finals of the Europa League, there is a one in eight chance of winning. The odds are better in the Premiership and it’s a bigger prize. It seems unthinkable Arsenal will not be in the Champions League next season, so we wait with interest to see how Arteta handles that. Hopefully with an even stronger squad that leaves him spoilt for choice.
Cup exits are obviously disappointing, but with the odds involved, generally a likelihood sooner or later. If Arsenal can overcome Palace on Sunday, then the events of last night might turn out to be a positive contributory factor to that thing we are all hoping for come true in May. But the focus now is not on what might have been, but looking ahead and what needs to be, which is picking up as many points as possible.
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