Penalty Shootout Heartbreak: Arsenal’s Europa League Journey Ends in Last-16 Epic against Sporting.
Despite dominating the match and creating numerous chances, the Gunners failed to convert their opportunities and were left to rue missed chances as the tie finished 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate
Arsenal’s Europa League campaign came to a heart-wrenching end in a dramatic last-16 tie against Sporting Lisbon as the Portuguese side advanced to the quarter-finals after winning the penalty shootout.
Despite dominating the match and creating numerous chances, the Gunners failed to convert their opportunities and were left to rue missed chances as the tie finished 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.
The decisive moment came in the shootout when Gabriel Martinelli’s penalty was saved, sealing Sporting Lisbon’s progression and leaving Arsenal to reflect on what might have been.
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Even before the shootout, which the visitors won 5-3, it was a second leg that had it all. Arsenal had looked on course to qualify relatively comfortably when Granit Xhaka tucked in the rebound from Gabriel Martinelli's first-half shot but the Gunners failed to fire at all in the second half and were pegged back in sensational style by Pedro Goncalves' outrageous lob from the centre circle.
Leandro Trossard's shot was also pushed onto a post in extra-time before Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan made another super stop to keep out Gabriel's header, with the Arsenal defender denied in the 120th minute by a goal-line block from Diomande before the Sporting's Manuel Ugarte was sent off in the match.
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