Arsenal

Arsenal have conceded four goals in two games after shipping two apiece against Bournemouth and Sporting Lisbon; Mikel Arteta insisted his side must improve ...

We made a lot of changes today and sometimes that takes time to get that cohesion. "We had some positives because we showed a lot of resilience to get back in the game," he continued. You could feel in the first 15 minutes that it needed some time to adapt and click. "But we need to defend our box much better and we have to be in the return leg to beat them. "In other moments we had total control of the game and we lost a little bit of threat today, especially with the four players we are missing in our frontline. Mikel Arteta urged his much-changed Arsenal side to improve 'massively' after they needed to fight back to earn a scrappy 2-2 draw with Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.

Watch all the best of the action from our game against the Portuguese giants at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club plc. However, Granit Xhaka’s shot spun off Hidemasa Morita and into the corner of the net to help ensure we went into the second leg at Emirates Stadium next week level pegging, and you can see that as well as everything else by watching the bitesize package above, with an extended cut and full match halves to come. Thursday night saw us battle it out with Sporting CP to claim a 2-2 draw in the Europa League, and you can see the best of the action in our highlights package.

Arsenal's Reiss Nelson, left, challenges for the ball with Sporting's Pedro Goncalves, right, and Sporting's Jeremiah St. Juste during the Europa League round ...

“We had periods in the game where we were in a lot of control,” reflected Arteta after the match, adding “but we lacked a little bit of strength in the final third because we had to adjust today with the players we did not have available. Despite plenty of endeavour in the closing stages, along with a raft of substitutes, this tie looks evenly set in London next Thursday, after an absorbing draw here in the Portuguese capital. Equally concerning was the bizarre way new Serie A arrival Kiwior ducked out of the way of the ball en route to Inacio. While the former Spezia defender appeared to have a handy burst of pace when required, it was his abject failure to contest for the ball in his own workplace that lingered long in the memory, his baffling bungle prompting serious fears over his viable, long-term future rather than any misplaced hilarity at such a revealingly poor vignette into his defensive ability. Amorim’s side rallied, with 21-year-old Goncalo Inacio testing Turner with a low shot from outside the area that the US keeper did well to turn away for a corner. If balmy sunshine on the Iberian peninsula — rather than snow in Britain — was the order of the day, there were to be no last-minute fireworks to match the intensity of last weekend's improbable comeback against Bournemouth to speak of.

The FA have cleared Arsenal of any wrongdoing after reviewing the wild and chaotic celebrations caused by Reiss Nelson's dramatic stoppage time winner ...

'I've no comment to make on what Arsenal did. [Arsenal](/sport/teampages/arsenal.html) of any wrongdoing after reviewing the wild and chaotic celebrations caused by Reiss Nelson's stoppage time winner against [Bournemouth](/sport/teampages/bournemouth.html) last weekend. [Chris Kavanagh made a note of the celebrations after staff charged on the pitch](/sport/football/article-11826189/FA-looking-Arsenals-wild-celebrations-Reiss-Nelson-winner.html)

Arsenal are in control of their Europa League destiny after drawing Sporting CP in Portugal. But are set pieces becoming a legitimate worry?

Arsenal's William Saliba on the result: "Today it wasn't an easy game but we scored the first goal and then they brought it back to 1-1 and then made it 2-1. There was inevitably a little less fluidity to Arsenal's play -- especially with so many key players, including Gabriel, [Thomas Partey](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/189972/Thomas-Partey) and Odegaard, not involved from kickoff -- and at 2-1 down, [Paulinho](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) missed a glorious chance to give the tie a completely different complexion. Arteta on the team's performance: "Considering that we conceded two goals away from home and you still come away with a draw, you have to take some positives. [Sporting CP](/football/team?id=2250) forward [Marcus Edwards](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/225552/Marcus-Edwards). Obviously, the second goal was lucky but Martinelli was through on goal and had a big chance. [Paulinho](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/258271/Paulinho) gave the home side the lead 10 minutes after the restart before [Gabriel Martinelli](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/269844/Gabriel-Martinelli) almost scored a sublime solo goal, dribbling from inside his own half and rounding Sporting goalkeeper [Antonio Adan](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/101871/Antonio-Adán), only for [Jeremiah St. Overall, it's everything to play for and we have to play at the Emirates." Once other teams, analysts and coaches see a potential weakness, you are going to have to nip that in the bud." Juste](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/215524/jerry-st-juste) to make a last-ditch intervention. He completed 31 of his 39 passes, but only 67% of those were in the final third. Arsenal restored parity on 62 minutes when [Sporting CP](/football/team?id=2250)'s [Hidemasa Morita](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/270752/Hidemasa-Morita) suffered the misfortune of diverting [Granit Xhaka](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/149981/Granit-Xhaka)'s pass into his own net. [William Saliba](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/277385/William-Saliba) opened the scoring with a 22nd-minute header from [Fábio Vieira](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/88865/Fabio-Vieira)'s corner before Sporting scored a similar goal at the other end 12 minutes later as [Gonçalo Inácio](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/304106/Gonçalo-Inacio) glanced home [Marcus Edwards](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/225552/Marcus-Edwards)' delivery.

Arsenal were far from their best at Sporting CP on Thursday night, but Mikel Arteta's side will go into the return fixture in London next week in good shape ...

Paulinho then pounced from close range to give the hosts the lead soon after the interval. [poor goalkeeping from Matt Turner](https://www.goal.com/en/news/usmnt-turner-arsenal-start-europa-league/blt721c85442f192bd4) and slack defending from debutant Jakub Kiwior allowed Goncalo Inacio to equalise before the break. [when the impressive William Saliba powered a header home from Fabio Vieira's first half corner](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/Arsenal-player-ratings-Sporting-Lisbon-Vieira-Kiwior/blt365494a4cc34abaa).

Arsenal kept its hopes of winning a famous double on track with a fiery 2-2 draw in the first leg of its UEFA Europa League last-16 tie at Sporting CP on ...

Sporting refused to be cowed by their concession though, and took just a dozen minutes to strike back in near-identical fashion, with Inacio the man to divert a Marcus Edwards set-piece past Matt Turner. [WATCH Arsenal TV on beIN SPORTS The Gunners took the lead, went behind and fought back to ensure it ended all square at Estadio Jose Alvalade in a four-goal encounter high on drama.

After Reiss Nelson's 97th-minute goal to put Arsenal 3-2 up, their bench rushed onto the field at the Emirates Stadium in celebration. Referee Chris Kavanagh ...

[Fulham](https://theathletic.com/football/team/fulham/) at Craven Cottage on Sunday. [Manchester City](https://theathletic.com/football/team/manchester-city/) at the top of the [Premier League](https://theathletic.com/football/premier-league/) and manager Mikel Arteta was asked about the wild celebrations after the game [Arsenal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/arsenal/) will not face any further action from the FA for their celebrations during their late win over [Bournemouth](https://theathletic.com/football/team/bournemouth/) last Saturday.

Indecision plagued a performance that struggled to get off the ground, and that cost Mikel Arteta's side in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

Two of those players and the still-injured [Gabriel Jesus](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-jesus-lmzbBZ9WUccDYEbt/) were not available to add to the absences of Tierney and Odegaard. And it was in the closing stages of 2021-22 that Xhaka was first used in his more advanced role before hitting his stride during the first half of this campaign. Maybe it does not need to, but Arsenal’s second-string need to be better than they have been this season. This was a theme that also caused their levels to dip in early February, with the inactivity in defence coming to the fore as they trailed 2-1 at half-time of a 4-2 away win over [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) — both Villa goals coming from a lack of intensity off the ball. If we don’t expose them (the players who came into the team) though, that’s never going to happen.” That moment of indecision lost Gabriel valuable seconds and, despite winning a throw-in, the Sporting player doing the pressing managed to keep Arsenal penned in. The groundwork was laid two years ago when Arteta first trialled Arteta’s six changes to his starting XI were mostly expected. Arsenal’s determination to take the initiative has carried them through some tough moments of late, but indecision, combined with tired legs meant that did not happen late on here. When the ball was lost in midfield minutes later, however, the defence backpedalled. Martinelli had two chances go astray (both courtesy of Zinchenko deliveries) while Vieira saw a snapshot flash just wide. “When you concede two poor goals, like we did, away from home in Europe it’s very difficult to get a positive result.

Arsenal news: The Gunners resume their Premier League title ambition this weekend at Fulham in their fourth game of March already.

[Leandro Trossard](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-trossard-replacement-gabriel-jesus-26406734) and [Eddie Nketiah](https://www.football.london/profile/eddie-nketiah-injury-sporting-arsenal-26407153). [Granit Xhaka excited for imminent Gabriel Jesus return with Arsenal in line for triple boost](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-jesus-arsenal-return-xhaka-26438537) [Arteta made six changes to the side that came from 2-0 down to defeat Bournemouth at the weekend](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arteta-arsenal-star-trust-sporting-26437073). [There was no room for Gabriel Jesus in the matchday squad](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/gabriel-jesus-arsenal-return-xhaka-26438537) despite participating in training. The forward has now featured in the last three games for the Gunners after missing the whole of February. It remains to be seen when the left-back will recover and return to the matchday squad. [Mikel Arteta's ](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/fixtures-results/mikel-arteta-shouted-ben-white-26435483)weren't at their usual best at the Estadio Jose Alvalade and were punished for their continued defensive issues against Ruben Amorim's side. The pair were nowhere to be seen on Thursday after Arteta's comments pre-game. He's very positive about it and hopefully he'll be fine." "We are assessing him," Arteta said on Nketiah. There had been optimism he would maybe feature on Thursday following his intensity in training but next week's return leg now looks the perfect chance. Arsenal were fortunate not to fall two goals down with Paulinho sent a wayward effort wide before Hidemasa Morita's own goal levelled the scoreline. [The Gunners](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/) drew 2-2 with the Portuguese outfit to position themselves in good stead to qualify for the [Europa League quarter-finals](https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-europa-league-prize-money-26257789) in the return leg next week.

Fulham host Premier League leaders Arsenal in this London derby at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. Can Mikel Arteta's side win yet again?

Their most likely league finish is 10th (28.1%) or ninth (25.8%) while they still have a 0.6% chance of finishing in the top five. Fulham have lost just three of their 13 Premier League home games this season (W6 D4), going down to Newcastle, Man Utd and Spurs. Fulham’s poor Premier League record against the Gunners, coupled with four consecutive home defeats against them help to fuel this outcome. Manor Solomon has scored in each of his last five appearances for Fulham across all competitions (five goals). Bukayo Saka may have only turned 21 years old in September, but he’s already one of the best talents in the Premier League. Solomon, who had to deal with a knee injury that kept him out for the bulk of the Premier League action before the turn of the year after signing on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, has arguably been Fulham’s key player in 2023. These three winners have all come in their last eight games (against Man Utd, Aston Villa and Bournemouth). Fulham’s defence has been impressive since the return of the Premier League post-World Cup on Boxing Day. This has helped the Gunners win a league-high 15 points from losing positions so far this term. The exceptions in this run were victories in March 2006 (vs. This was also the Serbian’s 100th goal in all competitions for Fulham. They have won all four of their away Premier League London derbies this season by an aggregate score of 8-0.

Granit Xhaka said the pressure has ramped up on Arsenal as they fight for the Premier League title but believes they have the mentality to cope.

But as long as you get the result, nobody will ask you at the end of May." But everything starts at the front, if nobody or not all of us are ready on this level, you get punched." We have to respect all the opponents, even if I think there is a good mentality in the team and let's try to keep that. But in general, I think we are doing well. However, Arsenal have shown greater resilience so far this season, and Xhaka said: "You can see that every team is playing different against us.

Jack Stroudley looks ahead to Sunday's game as table-topping Arsenal visit Craven Cottage.

The league leaders at home is always going to be a tough test but coming off the back of Brentford and the lack of depth available in midfield it feels like an even trickier task. Mitrovic is currently in the midst of a dry spell in front of goal. The first of those is on the right; Willian performed below average on Monday night against Brentford with Solomon’s purple patch forcing him to move from the left-hand side over to the right. The visitors have been exceptional this season, but Fulham have shown once already that they can take it to Arsenal, narrowly losing out 2-1 in August. This season they have been spectacular and Mikel Arteta deserves the credit he is receiving with how he has steered a toxic Arsenal ship towards the top of the Premier League table along with a five-point gap on title rivals Manchester City. While Fulham still sit in seventh, by the time 2pm on Sunday comes around chances are Fulham will need a result against the league leaders to keep those faint European dreams alive.

An entertaining night's action in Lisbon tonight saw Sporting and Arsenal share four goals in a back-and-forth encounter. William Saliba opened the scoring ...

Paulinho missed a great chance to make it 3-1, but it was a fair result with the Lions still in the tie. With just Turner to beat, the Sporting striker blazed his effort horribly high and wide. As the Brazil forward rounded Adán a certain goal was prevented by a wonderful St. Fábio Vieira swung over a cross which William Saliba rose to nod into the net practically unchallenged, the referee waving away Sporting protests of a foul in the scrum. Sporting took the lead through Paulinho but the striker then missed a golden opportunity to make it 3-1, and an unlucky Morita own goal made it all square. Riess Nelson was also rewarded for his weekend heroics against Bournemouth with a slot in the starting XI.

Arsenal travel to Fulham in the latest test of the Gunners' Premier League title credentials this weekend as Manchester City aim to ramp up the pressure on ...

"We saw what a positive result can do to the boys," said Klopp. At the bottom of the table, nine clubs are separated by just six points. Tottenham remain in fourth for now but have failed to score in their past three games to crash out of the Champions League and FA Cup either side of a 1-0 defeat at Wolves. Five consecutive clean sheets have been the bedrock of a run of 13 points from a possible 15 in the Premier League. Liverpool are the in-form side in the race for a top-four finish ahead of their trip to Bournemouth after a historic 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United last weekend. The Reds can move into the Champions League places for a few hours at least should they continue their upturn in form away at Bournemouth in Saturday's early kick-off.