WATCH ARSENAL 3—5 SPORTING LISBON PENALTY SHOOT OUT—Arsenal knocked out of Europa League in penalty shootout defeat..

Arsenal have been set on making history this season and, in a way, they did so on Thursday night. Never before has there been a competitive shoot-out at the Emirates Stadium and, against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League, that first decider went in favour of the Portuguese team. 

Gabriel Martinelli, the hero so many times this season, missed the decisive effort, ending the European dream for Mikel Arteta’s side. At the end, as Sporting celebrated, Arsenal could not complain. The visitors had been the better team, and Arsenal must now put all their focus into the Premier League. There have been moments in recent months when it has felt like the footballing gods were smiling on Arsenal.

Late winners have flown into the net, key players have remained unharmed and their remarkable league campaign has continued to capture the imagination of their supporters. Then there are nights like this, when they are reminded that top-level football is not all about dramatic goals and thrilling youngsters. Against a Sporting team of considerable cunning and tactical awareness, Arteta’s side were hit with a cold splash of reality as they were forced into extra time. Sporting are the fourth-best team in Portugal and it all seemed to be going Arsenal’s way, as expected, when Granit Xhaka gave them a first-half lead. 

After a 2-2 draw in the first leg, that would have been enough. There was more reason for Arsenal to feel good about themselves, as Gabriel Jesus impressed returning from injury. With one shot from the halfway line, though, Sporting midfielder Pedro Goncalves ripped the wind from Arsenal’s sails. It was an extraordinary equaliser, out of nowhere, and it changed the dynamic of this last-16 tie. 

With another Premier League match looming on Sunday, against Crystal Palace, an extra 30 minutes of football was not what Arsenal needed. There has been a shortage of “big European nights”, as Arteta put it before this match, at the Emirates Stadium in recent years. That was partly due to the pandemic, of course, but also because of Arsenal’s inability to qualify for Europe. The club were therefore keen to drum this one up, to transfer the excitement of their league form into European competition. 

Arsenal knocked out of Europa League in penalty shootout defeat