Arsenal

Premier League leader Arsenal was held 2-2 at Sporting Lisbon in their Europa League round-of-16 first-leg match Thursday.

The two sides already met in the group stage this season. Bayer Leverkusen had the same advantage over Ferencváros after their first-leg game. Manu Trigueros put Villarreal - a Champions League semifinalist last season, ahead in the first half before Anders Dreyer tied it at 1-1 with a second-half goal for Anderlecht in the draw in Brussels. Substitute Sven Michel salvaged a 3-3 draw for Union Berlin against Union Saint-Gilloise with a goal a minute from the end in the German capital. The defender headed in the opener for Arsenal from a corner from Fábio Vieira to capitalize on early pressure in the 22nd. Hidemasa Morita's own goal in the 62nd minute salvaged the draw for Arsenal ahead of the return leg at Emirates Stadium next Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

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.

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.

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka believes the team's success has brought increased pressure — but their “good mentality” is helping them cope.

“Leo (Trossard) as well is injured and he can play in this position. But in general, I think we are doing well. [Gabriel Martinelli](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-martinelli-NsmAJRRvnAnaLr6r/) up front against Sporting, with regular strikers [Gabriel Jesus](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gabriel-jesus-lmzbBZ9WUccDYEbt/) and [Eddie Nketiah](https://theathletic.com/football/player/eddie-nketiah-DEv6ydhcRGewFPXs/) out injured. [Brazil](https://theathletic.com/football/team/brazil/)’s [World Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/world-cup/) group game against [Cameroon](https://theathletic.com/football/team/cameroon/) in November, Xhaka added: “Because we lost Eddie as well, it’s much more important to have Gabi back. [Europa League](https://theathletic.com/football/europa-league/) round-of-16 tie. [Arsenal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/arsenal/) midfielder [Granit Xhaka](https://theathletic.com/football/player/granit-xhaka-701HGKSsMRGk4Bry/) believes the team’s success has brought increased pressure — but their “good mentality” is helping them cope.

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.

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.

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.

The use of BSL at football matches has been growing, with the national anthem signed at Wembley ahead of the Carabao Cup final last month. Deaf Arsenal ...