Sporting Lisbon held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 2-2 draw in the Europa League Round of 16.

Goals for Sporting came from Goncalo Inacio and Paulinho, with Arsenal's goals coming from William Saliba and an own goal from Hidemasa Morita.

The Portuguese outfit are making this a tough battle for Arsenal and proving that they can challenge against the very best teams in this competition, but Arsenal will be looking to snatch a second leg win against the Portuguese side in front of their home crowd at The Emirates.

An evenly contested game between the two sides is sure to set up a fantastic and thrilling second leg in England.

  • Player Ratings:

Sporting Lisbon:

 

Antonio Adan - 7

A well-rounded performance from Adan, stopping six Arsenal shots over the course of the 90.

Jeremiah St Juste - 7

Like Adan, a well-rounded performance from the Dutch centre half as he won most of his ground duels and 1 on 1 battles.

Sebastian Coates - 6

Captain Coates put in a solid shift at the back for Sporting, winning balls both in the air and on the ground, as well as making five clearances.

Goncalo Inacio - 8

Inacio opened the scoring for Sporting against the run of play, was decent in his battle against Saka and portrayed a good defensive display.

Ricardo Esagio - 6

A disappointing performance from Esagio, lacking the defensive side of his game to help St Juste. Esagio put in a good performance towards the attacking side of the pitch, but his defensive performance let him down.

Hidemasa Morita - 5

Sporting completely lost the midfield battle as their two in the middle were overran by Arsenal's midfield three. Morita scored an own goal and won one of his 10 attempted ground duels today and overall, played very poorly.

Pedro Goncalves - 5

A lack of physicality proved to be Goncalves' weakness, as he was completely overran by Xhaka, Jorginho and Vieira. A very underwhelming performance.

Matheus Reis - 6

Reis hardly touched the ball over the 90 minutes, making just 25 touches and seven passes. Bukayo Saka was able to make a mess of Reis and it reflected in his performance tonight.

Marcus Edwards - 8

Quite easily one of the best players on the pitch, despite receiving little of the ball. Edwards was able to create a goal and was key in Sporting's attacking plays.

Francisco Trincao - 7

A good defensive game from the Barcelona loanee, making up for many of Esagio's errors. A solid performance going forward too.

Paulinho - 7

The second goalscorer of the night for Sporting, which put them ahead in the 55th minute, though his performance overall was lacklustre, missing a big chance for the home side.

SUBS:

Ousmane Diomande - 7

Coming on for Esagio, Diomande put in a much better shift and was able to bring Sporting a sense of calmness and direction. He also won all four of his duels.

Nuno Santos - 6

Santos was given 20 minutes to make an impact for Sporting; despite his attempts he was unable.

Youssef Chermiti - 6

Made little impact but Chermiti had just 14 minutes of game time.

Abdul Fatawa Issahaku - N/A

Only appeared for a small amount of time.

Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal:

 

Matt Turner - 7

Turner was able to put in a solid shift between the sticks and is beginning to prove why he is capable of being a good cup goalkeeper. He was able to make 4 saves over the game and had played well.

Oleksandr Zinchenko - 7

Despite only playing 63 minutes and being replaced by Tomiyasu, Zinchenko won most of his duals and overall, played very well.

Jakub Kiwior - 6

An underwhelming performance from Kiwior but you can perhaps put that down to the fact he is still adapting to Arteta's play style. A performance to build on for sure.

William Saliba - 8

The equalising goal came from Saliba in the first half and his goal, along with his fantastic defensive shift certainly warrants an 8 rating. 

Ben White - 6

White seemed poor in his defensive game tonight and Trincao was able to cause problems. His passing work was good, but his game at the back needed working on.

Fabio Vieira - 7

Fabio Vieira played a huge part in Arsenal's midfield dominance and even grabbed himself an assist in the game.

Jorginho - 7

A man with a point to prove, as many doubted Arteta's judgement in signing him. Week by week, Jorginho is proving his doubters wrong and tonight is no different. A great performance.

Granit Xhaka - 8

A stellar performance from Arsenal's captain yet again as he continues to prove his doubters wrong. Xhaka had a sense of brilliance in his passing and was able to control the midfield effectively.

Bukayo Saka - 8

Saka showed his defensive capabilities on a fantastic level tonight as he had to cover for White, and won the most duels on the pitch with 12. Although not offering much offensively, Saka's defensive game was spot on.

Reiss Nelson - 7

Coming off the back of his last gasp winner against Bournemouth, Nelson was able to give Arsenal yet another good performance.

Gabriel Martinelli - 6

Like Saka, a more defensive display from Martinelli. Not a lot to shout about in the attacking side of his game, but solid defensively.

SUBS:

Takehiro Tomiyasu - 7

Replacing Zinchenko at the hour mark, Tomiyasu was able to create a positive impact from the bench and put in a solid defensive shift.

Gabriel - 7

Gabriel's performance off the bench was very solid for Arsenal and provided them stability at the back, winning his duels and making clearances.

Thomas Partey - 7

Partey's passing when he was subbed on was fantastic and contributed effectively from the bench.

Emile Smith Rowe - 6

Smith Rowe's contribution from the bench was mediocre at best, but was adequate to see the game out.

Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images
Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images