Four seasons following meeting in the UEFA Europa League group stage, Sporting CP and Arsenal meet once more in the round of 16 of the competition, with the first leg taking place at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon.
Sporting started their 2022/23 European campaign in the UEFA Champions League and made a strong start in Group D before collapsing following two games and narrowly snatching consolation of third place in the last minute of the sixth day.
The Portuguese beat Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League knockout stage play-offs, leveling late in the first leg to draw 1-1 at home, before winning 4-0 in Denmark, Pedro Gonçalves scoring twice following captain Sebastián Coates opened the scoring with his second goal of the game.
Arsenal earned direct access to the round of 16 by finishing top of UEFA Europa League Group A, winning five of their matches to edge PSV Eindhoven by two points.
Previous meetings
The clubs had never met in UEFA competition before being drawn together in the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League group stage, where Arsenal won 1-0 on matchday three in Lisbon thanks to a late goal from Danny Welbeck, before the two sides drew 0-0 in the return leg to London a fortnight later.
The clubs also met in the second round of the 1969/70 Inter-Cities Inter-Cities Cup which was not UEFA competition, with Arsenal winning 3-0 on aggregate.
Sporting’s 27 UEFA matches once morest English clubs have resulted in 10 wins and 11 losses, eight of them at home.
Arsenal’s win at Sporting in 2018 is the only in seven visits to Portugal (D3 L3), the most recent being a 1-1 draw once morest Vitória SC in the 2019 UEFA Europa League group stage /20.
The Gunners have won the last two of their three UEFA home legs once morest Portuguese clubs, the most recent being a 4-3 aggregate success once morest Benfica in the UEFA Europa round of 16 League 2020/21. After a 1-1 draw in Rome, the Gunners won 3-2 in Piraeus.
Sporting
Portuguese champions in 2020/21, their first league title in 19 years – Sporting finished second to Porto last season while retaining the Portuguese League Cup. Led by champion manager Rúben Amorim, the Lions also reached the UEFA Champions League knockout stage for the first time in 13 years, before being knocked out by Manchester City.
After eliminating Midtjylland, Sporting are taking part in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 for the fourth time. He won two of his previous three rounds at this stage, closely contested, once morest Atlético de Madrid, Manchester City and Viktoria Pilsen.
Sporting were 2005 UEFA Cup runners-up, losing the final 3-1 to CSKA Moskva at home.
Sporting have lost five of their last nine European home matches (3 wins, 1 draw), conceding 18 goals in those defeats.
Arsenal
Absent from Europe in 2021/22 for the first time in 26 years, Arsenal are in their fifth UEFA Europa League campaign in six seasons. Mikel Arteta’s side qualified by finishing fifth in the Premier League last season, 24 points behind champions Manchester City.
The Gunners’ fifth appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stage this season yielded the same result as the previous four; first place (at the expense of FC Zürich, Bodø/Glimt and PSV).
Arsenal played the final once morest Chelsea in 2018/19 and reached the last four in 2017/18 and 2020/21.
After losing seven successive UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matches from 2010/11 to 2016/17, the Gunners went on to claim all three UEFA Europa League wins at the same stage, knocking out AC Milan in 2017/ 18, Rennes in 2018/19 and Olympiacos.
Arsenal’s record in away matches in the UEFA Europa League knockout stage is 7 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.
We know each other…
Sent on loan to Sporting by FC Barcelona in January, Héctor Bellerín joined Arsenal from the Blaugrana aged 16 in July 2011. He made 239 first-team appearances and scored nine goals for the Gunners, winning the FA Cup three times , before returning to Barca last summer following a 2021/22 season on loan at Real Betis. He also had a brief loan spell at Watford in 2013/14.
North London-born Marcus Edwards joined arch-rivals Arsenal Tottenham in 2006 aged eight, signing his first professional contract ten years later. He only made one first-team appearance, however, and left Spurs for Portuguese club Vitória SC three years later. The former England junior international was also loaned out to Norwich in 2018.
Edwards scored Sporting’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham in this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage.
Other Sporting players who have played in England are Coates (Liverpool 2011-13, Sunderland 2014-16), Pedro Gonçalves (Wolves 2017-19), Francisco Trincão (Wolves loan 2021/22) and Rochinha (Bolton loan 2015).
Hidemasa Morita (Sporting) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal) are teammates in Japan, as are Fatawu Issahaku (Sporting) and Thomas Partey (Arsenal) for Ghana. These four players were part of their nation’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
