Arsenal Player Ratings vs Sporting Lisbon: Here’s how the Gunners fared
Arsenal have progressed through to the last 32 of the Europa League, despite being held to a goalless draw by Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners failed to find a way through on goal for the first time since the opening day of the season as Sporting defended heroically all night, even when they went a man down for the final few minutes when Jeremy Mathieu was shown a red card.
Despite making it to the next round, Arsenal’s night was blighted with a nasty injury to Danny Welbeck, while Stephan Lichsteiner also hobbled off in the second half.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Petr Cech- 6/10
Hardly broke a sweat. Distributed the ball efficiently and commanded his box well.
Stephan Lichtsteiner- 6/10
Put in a good shift at right-back before pulling his hamstring. Dealt with Nani’s pace very well.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos- 7/10
A pillar at the back, Sokratis was solid and defended very well. Led the backline well throughout the game.
Rob Holding- 7/10
Another impressive display from Holding. Passed the ball well out from the back and produced an important block to deny Montero.
Carl Jenkinson- 5/10
Jenkinson wasn’t extremely comfortable on the left but did a good job to help the Gunners keep a clean-sheet.
Matteo Guendouzi- 7/10
A lively display from the youngster, who used the ball efficiently in the middle of the park. Showed great maturity, although he faded a bit after the interval.
Aaron Ramsey- 6/10
Kept things ticking for Arsenal from the base of midfield. Showed great energy and always tried to get involved in every Arsenal move.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan- 5/10
Never really got into the game. Apart from creating a good chance for Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan was anonymous.
Emile Smith Rowe- 6/10
Some really good touches and tricks to get off his marker. The youngster kept the Sporting defence on their toes with his pace and movement.
Alex Iwobi- 6/10
Couldn’t impact the game as much as he would have liked to do. Tried a lot to make things happen and drove forward with the ball but the Sporting defence was simply one step ahead of him.
Danny Welbeck- 5/10
Caused some problems to the visitors’ backline before he was stretchered off after suffering a horrific ankle injury in the first half.
Substitutes
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- 6/10
Replaced the injured Welbeck in the first half and hit the bar just after the break. Caused a lot of problems for the Sporting defence with his explosive pace.
Sead Kolasinac- 5/10
Came on for Jenkinson and offered a bit more threat down the left flank.
Read more: Opinion – Arsenal should hold onto this 33-year-old veteran amidst interest from Barcelona
Ainsley Maitland-Niles- 4/10
Replaced the injured Lichtsteiner but never really managed to get into the game.