Arsenal’s win over Sporting CP showed again the threat of their season’s weakness but Mikel Arteta has the blueprint now to overcome it
Arsenal’s win in Lisbon was such a vital one for so many reasons. Beyond just getting the result and taking a lead back to North London for the second leg, the Gunners had just come off the back of two defeats and needed a response.
Mikel Arteta’s side remain favourites for the Premier League, and some still tip them to go all the way in the Champions League too. However, the last fortnight-plus no doubt rocked many fans’ confidence and had them reeling.
Therefore, securing victory away from home against a very good Sporting CP side will have re-energised many. Sitting in the Jose Alavalade Stadium, watching the Portuguese side start so strongly, hit the bar and test David Raya, the nerves were certainly there.
However, the return of David Raya, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes together definitely helped. Mikel Arteta has leaned on his team’s spine for much of the season, and it has been the wide areas where scrutiny has been at its greatest.
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Despite having more goals than any other side in the Premier League, only one player sits with double figures for goals, Viktor Gyokeres (11). The next highest is Eberechi Eze with six, and five of those came in the two games against Tottenham.
Bukayo Saka also has six, but many have said this is far below expectations for the Gunners’ talisman. The strength has been in the midfield, the back line, and the keeper this season.
Which is why it makes sense that when Arsenal go behind, they tend to really struggle. Eleven times Arsenal have conceded the first goal of the game, and they’ve gone on to win just three of those matches: Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal, Bournemouth 2-3 Arsenal and Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal.
They have either drawn (four) or lost (four) the other eight games. You get the sense therefore that Arsenal’s biggest hope of winning their remaining games will rely on being the side that makes the breakthrough.
Unless, of course, they manage to overcome this record and come from behind to win in any of the fixtures that remain. But in Lisbon, their resilience certainly gave them belief. Murmurs went around the press box after the 70th minute, highlighting that Sporting looked as though they were tiring.
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Arsenal dug in, stayed strong and then hit Sporting with a sucker punch. It was rather pleasing considering the likes of Aston Villa, Sunderland, Wolves, Manchester United, and Liverpool have all struck so late to snatch points off the Gunners.
Arteta spoke after of his delight in seeing his side stick to their “identity” which he clearly sees as the key to their potential success. “Extremely happy it was a big night,” he said.
“A big moment in the season. Especially where we’re coming from, I think we had a point to prove. Yesterday I talked about identity and the things that I wanted to see on that pitch. It certainly happened that it was a shift there.”
Whereas this victory is the latest to join recent wins against Everton and Chelsea, where a late goal secured victory. Arteta needs to find a way to either fix this ongoing concern, or ensure his side follows the blueprint from Lisbon, but there is no doubt associated with risk should this Arsenal side fall behind in any of their pivotal upcoming clashes.
