The Europa League clash between the English giant Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon who are on a run of four straight wins in all matches was seen on Thursday night at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
The Gunners departed Lisbon with a fortunate 2-2 draw after a wild 90 minutes against Sporting in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 matchups.
William Saliba risked the Gunners to an early lead but the hosts hit twice before Arsenal found level footing through a Sporting own goal. Sporting equalized 12 minutes later in nearly identical fashion through Goncalo Inacio.
The contest collected more than 4 expected goals spread pretty evenly between the two teams.
According to ESPN, Mikel Arteta made six changes to his starting lineup, knowing there are many key fixtures in the coming weeks as Arsenal fights on multiple fronts, including a fierce Premier League title chase.
At the start of the second half, Paulinho put Sporting in front after the Arsenal defense fell at asleep. Both sides blew great chances to pick out goals before a fluky own-goal from Hidemasa Morita saw the Gunners draw level.
There would be another contention of a likely repetitive performance or an improved style to wins, as both teams meet on Thursday 16th, at 4 pm ET, at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners sit five points above two-time defending champions Manchester City as they chase their first PL title since 2004, all the while they chase their first European trophy since lifting the 1993-94 Cup Winners’ Cup.
