Sporting 0–1 Arsenal: Gunners Get the Job Done in Lisbon
Arsenal went to Lisbon needing a response in the Champions League, and they got it, not pretty, not flash but effective. It wasn’t exciting, although it was dominant, but it was effective. After two straight losses across competitions, the Gunners needed a response and they got it. Attention now shifts back to the league with Bournemouth coming to the Emirates.
#UCL Review
Arsenal went to Lisbon to do a job on Sporting and they did. The Portuguese club hasn’t exactly had a good run against English opposition and that turned out to be true. Well, some reminded me they did knock the Gunners out in the Europa League semis on pens a couple of years back I think. Besides that, it’s been losses or draws at best against English opposition. In the early exchanges, the Portuguese club came out of the blocks with an aggression that seemed to knock us off our stride a little. There was that pass that sliced the defence and Suarez was in behind. He smashed one into the upright for a warning shot. Replays showed that Raya had his fingertips to the shot for a crucial save that kept the tie level pre interval.
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| Image Cred: Arsenal.com |
The Gunners gradually eased into the game, wrestling control back. They effectively kept their opponents at bay for most of the half. On the Arsenal side, our possession dominance didn’t exactly mean we pummelled their goalie with shot after shot, which is the not so good part. Martin Odegaard, just back from injury was trying to pick pockets with his neat little passes but most were cut out if risky or played too safe to retain possession. The Odegaard conundrum continues, we miss him when he is unavailable due to injury and when he comes back, he plays to divide opinion. It’s just a head scratcher, his last stellar season was 2022/23, seems like an eternity right now. I fancy Odegaard to turn things around but he needs to stay fit first, the injuries aren’t helping.
The Gunners were happy to go into the interval at nil nil, the Portuguese weren’t.
After the interval the two sides tried without success to break the deadlock, Raya was called upon to make a few routine saves, and Mikel made his substitutions, bringing on Martinelli, Max and Havertz. That was the master stroke, Havertz stroked home a well controlled ball from a peach pass by Martinelli, 0-1 to the Arsenal. Raya was called on to make another save close to the dying minutes of the game to ensure we left Lisbon with all 3 points. It wasn’t pretty, neither was it bland, it was effective. Watching PSG carve Liverpool time after time again shows why playing sexy football isn’t exactly what it’s made out to be by these pundits. Pundits like Schmeichel making it seem Liverpool played smart being compact and defensive, yet turns around to hypocritically slam Arsenal for leaning into their defensive strength.
The Arsenal team has to find the balance between attack and defence if we are being objective and one hopes Mikel is able to get his team drop the shackles. We got back to basics, stemmed the tide of two straight losses across comps, and returned to winning ways. One hopes we can now push on for the final seven weeks of the season across both competitions.
Now unto the #EPL
Arsenal's first #EPL game of April sees the Gunners welcoming the Cherries from Bournemouth in an early lunch time kickoff at the Emirates on Saturday. I am really not a big fan of early midday kickoff, most are babana skins or close for us, hopefully this isn't. The reverse fixture ended in a 2-3 Arsenal win and one would hope this game would end with Arsenal repeating the win. Andoni Iraola has gotten a tune out of this team, making them able to go toe to toe with the best, one can’t underestimate the Cherries even without Semenyo. They do have a leaky defence if one is looking for an Achilles heel in the team, Iraola hasn’t been able to get that fixed. They are an attacking side first, with the ability to hurt any team. City dropped points at their ground after all.
The bouncing back to winning ways following the crushing cup defeats should be propellant for the boiz to go on and will the game to their own desired outcome, a win. One would hope the Gunners can get down to business from the whistle, Bournemouth like to score an early goal, taking advantage of teams who fail to settle into their stride on time. Rasping attackers like Kroupie, Tavernier, Evanilson can hurt you if you are not switched on. With only 7 more games to go, 5 wins to secure the league, the Gunners will have to start off the blocks ready. Staying compact and defensively disciplined to ensure we give no chances away. Good enough the starting backline appears to be intact following the #UCL outing. We also hear Eze and Hincapie may be back, honestly we could do with some luck regarding our injuries.
It’s squeeky bum time, most pundits want Arsenal to fold so that they can banter the gunners.
Arteta:
"We know the meaning of every match and the opportunity that we have, especially when we play at home. We need to maximise every result. It’s about each individual and how we turn up there. It’s actually impacting the game, the atmosphere and energy in the stadium. The closer we get, the relevance and importance of the match increases obviously, and tomorrow is a big day for us. The players know it, our supporters know it. It's an early kick-off, so get up early, have an early breakfast, bring your lunch, bring your dinner, and let's go all together for it because it has to be a big day."
The gunners will have to prove they deserve to win the league, there’s no other way to do this. An ugly 1-0 to the arsenal win or a pulsating 3-2 win all give 3 points. The rival fans can decide if they wanna watch us bore our way to the league title or just accept us as Champions elect. My team sheet would look like this, hoping Eze is able to start on the bench
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| #ARVBOU |
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