Sporting 0-1 Arsenal: A much needed moment wins the first leg

Good morning from Lisbon where Arsenal won last night.

Was it a classic? Far from it, but was it almost exactly the kind of the game I thought it might be. Knock-out ties have a much different dynamic to group stages games, so anyone expecting a repeat of the 5-1 here last season probably had their sights set too high. There was no way they were going to leave themselves open to that, and after a couple of defeats, this wasn’t necessarily an Arsenal team at full rhythm and confidence.

Sporting had that early chance, of course, and I have to say that was an incredible pass with the outside of the boot to set Maximiliano Araujo free. It’s the sort that if you execute it properly, it’ll cause any defence problems, and his shot – from our vantage point in the stands behind the net – came crashing off the bar. We later learned David Raya got fingertips to it, and having seen the brief highlights this morning, it’s a crucial touch from the Arsenal keeper.

So, an early scare, but after that I thought we got on top of things, and played much of the game in their half. We didn’t create a great deal, but the momentum and territory shifted our way. A Noni Madueke corner hit the bar then fell for Martin Odegaard who dragged the follow up shot wide, and that was about as good as it got from an attacking perspective.

I think there was a second half shot from Leandro Trossard which went wide, and midway through the second period we thought we’d scored when Martin Zubimendi curled home. Viktor Gyokeres did look offside in the build-up so the celebrations were a bit muted, and VAR ultimately ruled it out. Odegaard went down, carried on a bit, but was replaced by Kai Havertz, and I do think that had an impact on where the game was played. We ceded a bit of territory having spent a lot of time in their half, and there were further substitutions when Max Dowman and Gabriel Martinelli came on for Madueke and Trossard.

The latter had a shot on target comfortably saved by the keeper, and at 0-0, we had Raya to thank again for a really quick reaction save at this near post, stopping a goal-bound header with a superb stop. Discussion in the stands was about him being a solid candidate for our player of the season, and I really think he should be in that discussion. After no injury time in the first half there were just two minutes at the end despite the subs from both sides and a stoppage for the Odegaard injury.

Just enough time for Arsenal to go win it though. We played it out to the right, Martinelli gave the defender a zippy little shuffle with his feet, cut inside, drove infield and found Havertz with an excellent pass. The first touch was perfect, the finish very calm and composed with just the keeper to beat, and Arsenal had snatched victory at the death. Somehow the ref then found some more injury time to worry us with, but the whistle went and the celebrations began.

Afterwards, Mikel Arteta said:

They are very tricky, very difficult to play. That’s the reason why they won 17 games in a row here. They haven’t lost for a long, long time and we really had to earn it. We knew as well that it’s a team extremely dangerous when they have space to run and they have two situations where David had to intervene in a brilliant way.

And on his keeper, who won man of the match:

He’s extraordinary, magnificent, incredible. I don’t know the adjective, the right one. And with that, it’s enough. We are so happy to have him.

I think in the context of a two-legged tie, a 0-0 draw away from home is generally an ok result. Not brilliant, but acceptable. That’s what we were heading for last night which I get would have been a bit underwhelming, especially with the last two games hanging over us like the bad smell that permeated the stadium last night (someone needs to check the plumbing, lads).

Obviously though, a win is far better, and to win it the way we did was probably the kind of shot in the arm this team needs right now. It felt like we needed a moment, and what Martinelli and Havertz produced between them was certainly that. With a big game on Saturday against Bournemouth, the mood has lifted a little bit and I think you could see by how that goal was celebrated by the players and the manager, it was one they really needed.

I do understand why everything is micro-analysed these days, and if you want to pick the bones out of the performance of the team or certain individuals, be my guest. That’s perfectly reasonable, but I genuinely put this down as a very good result against a team who made it really tough for us away from home, and as a platform for the second leg, we’re in a decent position. Arteta talked pre-game about identity, and I mentioned in the preview about how that was about control. While I think we can sometimes take that a bit too far, a European away is not a bad place to find some of it again. Now it’s about how much of the confidence we get from winning can be translated into Saturday lunchtime, but that’s a discussion for another day.

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Just a quick word on the match-day experience. Having been here last season for that 5-1, it was quite surprising to see how heavy-handed the police presence was. We were greeted off the metro by armour-clad stormtroopers who corralled us straight into the stadium, and after the game marched us back in file to the station, refusing to allow anyone to go a different direction until they sort of gave up at the entrance and people legged it off to get cabs etc. Last season’s game was good fun, there were no issues with the home fans as far as I could see, and we all mixed quite happily at a pizza restaurant near the ground. That poor place lost out on a lot of money last night as we weren’t allowed stop!

Perhaps they had some intel, maybe this is just the state of the world right now where cops (or ‘cops’) with masks over their faces and weapons to intimidate you are de rigueur, but it really felt like there was no need for it. Lisbon is a great place, the people so warm and welcoming, so it really felt at odds with that.

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Anyway, it’s a small thing. The most important thing is that we won the game, giving ourselves a solid position going into next week’s second leg. For more on this one, we’ll have a podcast for you a bit later on today, probably around lunchtime. Now though, I hear there’s some coffee and a pastel de nata with my name on it.

Until then, have a good one.

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