Sporting CP Dump Arsenal Out of UEFA Europa League!

Sporting CP Dump Arsenal Out of UEFA Europa League! The Portuguese side have gotten the better of the Gunners.

Sporting CP beat Arsenal 5-3 on penalties in the UEFA Europa League last night. The Gunners will not enter the next stage of the tournament.

Arsenal 1:1 Sporting CP (Sporting Wins 5:3 on penalties) – UEFA Europa League Last 16 Second Leg

The Gunners took the lead when Granit Xhaka pounced on a rebound from their goalkeeper. The hosts equalised in stunning fashion when Pedro Goncalves scored from near the halfway line.

Gabriel Martinelli was the only player to miss a penalty at the Portuguese side advanced.

“We knew it would be a difficult game against a great team.” Sporting coach Ruben Amorim told UEFA.

“But we’ve believed since the beginning. We felt the game was very comfortable from the beginning. It was a great night.

“Sometimes we had a bit of luck, but Arsenal had luck as well in some moments. It was a great night for us, but we haven’t won anything.

“I think we had a great game. It wasn’t the kind of game where the big team controls the game all the time and has a lot of possession. We had possession and in the second half we were very strong.

“We had some chances to win the game, so it was a great performance from our players. Arsenal played well but I think we were better.” he concluded.

The defeat is a hard pill to swallow for Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.

“It’s a huge blow. There were moments, especially during the first 75 minutes, when we weren’t at our level and gave every ball away.” He spoke.

“It was a very different game to the first leg. They are really good at attacking spaces and second line runs.

“We didn’t put enough pressure on the ball. That created an open, transition-based game that we didn’t want to play.”

Man of the Match: Pedro Goncalves (Sporting CP). Sporting CP Dump Arsenal Out of UEFA Europa League!