Takehiro Tomiyasu had to leave the field after only 8 minutes of play. The Japanese player was hurt after a situation where he tried to lean over to block Sporting’s attack. Ben White was brought on as a substitute.
In the 20th minute, William Saliba also had to leave the field due to injury and was replaced by Rob Holding. At this point, Arsenal took a 1-0 lead thanks to Granit Xhaka’s goal.
However, the absence of quality players in the defense caused Arsenal to be leveled 1-1 by Sporting in the second half. This is also the score in 120 minutes of official play and extra time. On penalties, Arsenal had to receive a defeat at home with a score of 5-3 when Gabriel Martinelli missed the decisive goal.
This weekend, Arsenal will face Crystal Palace in the Premier League before the international series. However, the London derby takes place less than 3 days later, so it is difficult for Saliba and Tomiyasu to recover to play.
The bad luck of injury haunted Arsenal right after the complaints of coach Ten Hag on the Man United side. Before the Europa League series, the MU captain said that Arsenal always have the best force this season. And immediately, Arsenal had to receive the injury news of two players when the match against Sporting only passed 20 minutes.
Being eliminated in the Europa League can also be considered a lucky point for Arsenal. Arteta’s army has only one battle left, the Premier League. The opportunity for the London team to quench their thirst for this title is coming closer and closer.
Source: https://bongda24h.vn/europa-league/arsenal-mat-lien-2-cau-thu-vi-chan-thuong-o-tran-thua-sporting-506-347743.html