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Arsenal were eliminated from the Europa League at the last-16 round on penalties, as Sporting CP won a shootout at Emirates Stadium on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals.
Gabriel Martinelli’s missed penalty kick causes Arsenal to lose against Sporting by a score of 1-1 (Agg 3-3; 3-5 on pennies) and exit the Europa League.
After an intense Europa League last-16 match between Arsenal and Sporting ended in a 1-1 draw on the night and a 3-3 tie overall, the Portuguese team advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to a save from Gabriel Martinelli’s penalty effort.
The second leg was the most exciting part of the match even before the visitors prevailed in the shootout, 5-3.
After Granit Xhaka tucked in the rebound from Martinelli’s first-half effort, Arsenal appeared to be on track to qualify quite easily. Despite not scoring at all in the second half, Pedro Goncalves’ amazing lob from the middle of the circle greatly worries the Gunners.
That was a shot that would have made Arsenal supporters recall Nayim’s goal past David Seaman in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup Final as Aaron Ramsdale scrambled back into his own goalmouth in vain.
Arsenal UEFA Europa League Exit: Getting Focus on English Premier League
Leandro Trossard’s attempt in extra time got deflaction into the post, but Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan made an outstanding save to stop Gabriel’s header as well. As Manuel Ugarte of the visitors went off, an Ousmane Diomande goal-line save quit the Arsenal defense in the 118th minute.
Nuno Santos’ winning penalty, though, gave Sporting the advantage in the end. Mikel Arteta’s team must devote all of their attention to domestic issues since Crystal Palace is going to the Emirates on Sunday when they have a five-point lead in the Premier League.
On Friday, March 17, at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw for the Europa League quarterfinals will take place at 12 p.m. UK time. There will also be a draw for the semifinals.
