Arsenal’s drab draw against Sporting Lisbon has been branded one of the worst Champions League knockout ties of the generation.
That’s the opinion of eSPORTY’s Gabby Agbonlahor, who wasn’t impressed as the Gunners limped into the competition’s semi-finals.
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Mikel Arteta’s men edged past Sporting 1-0 on aggregate following a goalless stalemate in their quarter-final second-leg at the Emirates.
Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time winner in Portugal last week proved the difference between the two teams across 180 minutes of football.
Ahead of their crunch Premier League trip to Manchester City on Sunday, Arsenal managed just one shot on target against Sporting.
eSPORTY’s Ally McCoist drew the short straw on commentary duties for the TV broadcast of the game, while Sam Matterface was at the Allianz Arena for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid’s seven-goal thriller.
Agbonlahor told his Breakfast partner on Thursday: “Ally, honestly, mate, I was listening to Sam Matterface, and I’m thinking, like, ‘Poor Ally and Fletch [TNT’s Darren Fletcher].’
“They’re watching one of the worst knockout ties of our generation.”
“Torture,” eSPORTY Breakfast host McCoist added. “Torture.”
In contrast, on the epic between Bayern and Munich, Agbonlahor added: “We were served up an old-school, early 2000s classic, mate.
“Sometimes, right, I want to have a quick look at my phone and see, [have], the kids messaged. I didn’t look at my phone until half-time, until full-time. It was, like, end-to-end, no one wanted to defend.
“Players playing man-for-man. Vinny Junior and [Kylian] Mbappe, man-for-man with [Jonathan] Tar and [Dayot] Upamecano. It was unbelievable. End-to-end, missed chances.
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“Mbappe, showing flashes of R9 at times. [Michael] Olise, stealing the show. Luis Diaz, showing what Liverpool are missing.”
Agbonlahor continued: “Luis Diaz, though, Liverpool fans must be shaking and thinking like, we need a rebuild, we need Diaz back.
“On that one, of course, they missed Diaz, I actually think they missed the energy of Darwin Nunez as well,” McCoist claimed.
“I mean, maybe not in the same class as a player or a finisher as Diaz, but they miss his energy and enthusiasm up front.”
Declan Rice’s body language
A lack of energy and enthusiasm was also a criticism labelled at Rice at full-time, who looked visibly frustrated.
“What do you think of Declan Rice’s body language when the final whistle went?” Agbonlahor asked Joel Beya later on Breakfast.
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“I know he did a great interview and brushed off any silly talk about being frustrated at the performance, but his face looked a bit like, ‘We weren’t great there, but we got through. But come on, guys, we’re better than this. We’ve got to be better than this in the future.'”
This is the first time I’m going to pay you a compliment for a long time,” Arsenal fan Beya replied.
“It’s like you. You always had that face. You want to win. So sometimes you’ll moan even when you win, right?
“And we have to expect that from Declan, who was our leader. He is the standard. And it’s a bit like Roy Keane.
“How many times have we seen Roy Keane or Patrick Vieira not happy? Steven Gerrard. I’m not saying he’s them yet, but I’m saying…Attitude-wise.
“How many times a week do you finish this show, Ally, and you go, ‘Oh, it was a good show, but you thought you could have done better?'”
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‘Wasting my phone battery watching Arsenal’
On a positive note, Arsenal have reached the Champions League semi-final in back-to-back seasons.
But at 1-0 on aggregate, this was the joint-lowest scoring two-legged quarter-final tie in the UEFA Champions League, and lowest since Manchester City beat Atletico Madrid by the same score in 2021-22.
“I was watching on my iPad, the Bayern game, on my phone, Arsenal, and I kept thinking, I just want to go and look at my WhatsApp and see have the kids messaged,” Agbonlahor finished.
“It was that boring I was like, I’m wasting my phone battery here watching Arsenal.”
