EPL
Arsenal 1-1 Sporting CP (3-5 pens): Player ratings as Gunners crash out of Europa League

Arsenal crashed out of the Europa League at the hands of Sporting CP on penalties on Thursday night after a marathon last 16 second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Granit Xhaka had given the Gunners a first half lead, before an absolute wonder goal from Pedro Goncalves deservingly brought Sporting back into it in the second 45. There was nothing to separate the side through extra-time, but Antonio Adan emerged the hero for the Portuguese side in the penalty shootout, saving from Gabriel Martinelli – Sporting won it 5-3.
It was clear that, after the 2-2 draw in the first leg, Sporting fancied their chances and started on the front foot. Throughout the early stages they took up good positions without finding the right final ball to make it count. Around 15 minutes in, Trincao didn’t miss by much when he cut in from the right and lashed a fierce left-footed shot towards the far bottom corner.
After that wake up call, Arsenal began to come alive a little more. Gabriel Jesus, starting his first club game since early November, went close when he connected with Reiss Nelson’s cross into the six-yard box –Adan dived to his right and was equal to it.
Adan made another top save not long after, blocking Martinelli’s low shot as the Brazilian went through one-on-one. But as the ball rebounded, Xhaka was there to follow it up and confidently swept it home to put his team ahead.
As Arsenal pushed for a second, Adan made more saves, denying Martinelli and Jesus from similar positions on the left. Sporting also continued to attack in a breathless period of action and the pace of ex-Tottenham player Marcus Edwards proved a threat as it had done in Portugal last week.
Jerry St. Juste and Manuel Ugarte both had shots from distance before half-time. The former coming after a driving run through the heart of the Arsenal but blazing well over, and the latter getting much with his powerful strike that was deflected wide.
The Gunners didn’t make a good start to the second half. Sloppiness was creeping into their game and the ball was being lost cheaply – it was that which led to Goncalves’ equaliser, although it took the audacity of the quality to actually turn it into a goal in the way the Sporting star did.
Barely inside the Arsenal half, Goncalves caught just enough of Aaron Ramsdale off his line and struck the ball so sweetly, dipping and swerving over the backpedalling Arsenal goalkeeper, practically silencing a stunned Emirates crowd in disbelief at what they had just seen.
Sporting’s tails were up and Ramsdale managed to get his face – anything counts – in the way of a close-range shot from Edwards to stop Sporting getting ahead. But a slightly frenzied end to the 90 minutes didn’t see one or the other take the lead, and so extra-time ensued.
The visitors nearly shot themselves in the foot in the additional period when a slack backwards pass put Leandro Trossard through on goal. Adan stayed big and managed to deflect the Belgian’s attempted finish onto the post, agonisingly so for Arsenal fans.
With fatigue seemingly setting in, Sporting lost a bit of shape in extra-time and the Gunners probed more. Rob Holding thought he should have done better with a header from almost on the goal-line. There was also more than one occasion in extra-time when Arsenal were guilty of over-playing it.
Gabriel thought he had won it for Arsenal at the death with a bullet header. But Adan, as he had been for nearly two hours of action by that point, was equal to it and parried away, while there was still time for Ugarte to get himself sent off for poleaxing Bukayo Saka before the shootout.
Penalties
Sporting CP: St. Juste (scored), Esgaio (scored), Inacio (scored), Arthur (scored), Santos (scored)
Arsenal: Odegaard (scored), Saka (scored), Trossard (scored), Martinelli (missed)
Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10 – Favoured over Matt Turner after the American’s shaky performance in Lisbon. Beaten by one of the best goals you’re likely to see but then later saved with his face.
RB: Takehiro Tomiyasu – N/A – Injury forced him off after just nine minutes.
CB: William Saliba – N/A – Didn’t last much longer than Tomiyasu. Also injured.
CB: Gabriel – 6/10 – A tough night. Distribution could have been better but nearly won it in extra-time.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6/10 – Given a hard time tracking Edwards but just about came through it.
CM: Fabio Vieira – 5/10 – Heavily involved in lots of good Arsenal play in the first half. Things got a little sloppy in the second half and he struggled to keep up.
CM: Jorginho – 5/10 – Couldn’t get his foot on the ball to calm things down when Sporting upped the tempo after half-time. Came off not long after that.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 7/10 – Followed up the play to break the deadlock with a composed finish. Battled for the ball well in midfield.
RW: Reiss Nelson – 6/10 – Created an early chance for Jesus but mostly a peripheral figure.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 7/10 – Arsenal have survived well without him but here he showed what they have been missing – his movement off the ball to create spaces was very good.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 5/10 – Forced good saves out of Adan. Faded later on and it was a poor penalty in the shootout.
Substitutes
SUB: Ben White (9′ for Tomiyasu) – 6/10
SUB: Rob Holding (21′ for Saliba) – 5/10
SUB: Leandro Trossard (46′ for Jesus) – 5/10
SUB: Thomas Partey (66′ for Jorginho) – 6/10
SUB: Bukayo Saka (66′ for Nelson) – 7/10
SUB: Martin Odegaard (101′ for Vieira) – 7/10
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 7/10 – Had to contend with two early injuries. Reacted to Sporting’s equaliser by turning to two of his most trusted players from the bench.
Sporting CP player ratings (3-4-3)
GK: Adan (9); CB: St. Juste (7), CB: Diomande (6), CB: Inacio (6); RM: Esgaio (7), CM: Goncalves (8), CM: Ugarte (6), LM: Matheus (7); RF: Edwards (8), ST: Paulinho (6), LF: Trincao (7)
Sub: Chermiti (5), Essugo (6), Santos (6), Arthur (6), Tanlongo (N/A)
Player of the match – Antonio Adan (Sporting CP)
EPL
Harry Maguire suggests he isn’t ‘properly appreciated’ at Man Utd

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has suggested that he is not as appreciated at club level as he is for England.
Maguire made the switch to the Red Devils for £80m back in 2019 and has since divided opinion after being named the skipper less than a year later. This season, he was quickly dropped by incoming United manager Erik ten Hag in favour of Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez.
At international level however, the centre-back has been one of England’s most dependable performers under Gareth Southgate, playing a major role in the Three Lions’ deep tournament runs over the last five years.
Maguire started for England in Thursday’s 2-1 win at Italy in Euro 2024 qualifying. He didn’t cover himself in glory for the Azzurri’s goal but stood tall late on to help grind out the victory.
Speaking to the media post-match, Maguire was asked if he feels ‘properly appreciated’.
“For England, yes, I do,” he replied. “Obviously, last season was difficult for the club, but, listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre backs. He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and I play, every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team.
“I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team. I’m 30 years old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level. I’ve over 50 caps. I’m England’s top-scoring defender.
“I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I’ve captained the club for three years now, but I do also understand that when you’re the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny. Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough, alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled.”
Maguire recognises that he has not always been at his best while wearing a United shirt.
He was an easy scapegoat during their dreadful 2021/22 season in which they recorded their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League era.
That said, Maguire has also failed to kick on and if anything has taken several steps backwards after what was a promising first half to 2021, emerging as one of the league’s leading centre-backs and playing out of his skin while unfit in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.
His case hasn’t been helped by his outward need silence critics, notably scoring for England and sticking his fingers in his ears as a celebration amid his decline for United.
EPL
Arsenal lead Rice race; Man Utd eye Ferguson

90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…
Arsenal remain ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The midfielder’s preference is to stay in London amid previous links to Manchester City and Manchester United. (Football Insider)
New Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel will look to reunite with Chelsea duo Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy when the summer window rolls around. (Calciomercato)
Manchester United are ready to send Amad Diallo back to Sassuolo as part of a bid to sign Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi. (CMW)
Another player on Manchester United‘s radar is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. The 18-year-old scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland earlier this week. (Football Insider)
Liverpool will look to strengthen their defensive ranks with the signing of Dutch defender Perr Schuurs, with current club Torino ready to sell for a fee of €50m. (Tuttosport)
Ilkay Gundogan is likely to leave Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer this summer. His contract expires at the end of the season. (The Athletic)
Real Madrid have joined Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. (Fabrizio Romano)
Meanwhile, Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga would prefer to join Real Madrid over the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United this summer. (Cadena SER)
After failing with a bid last summer, Chelsea are working on another offer to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton. (Football Insider)
Arsenal and Newcastle are monitoring Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojland, who grabbed a hat-trick on his international debut for Denmark this week. (Tutto Atalanta)
EPL
Arsenal pre-season 2023/24: Fixtures and schedule

Having reached new heights in the Premier League in 2022/23, Arsenal will soon be beginning their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season tour to get ready for 2023/24.
Preparations for last season took place in Germany for Arsenal but with the Covid-19 pandemic a bit more of a distant memory for many, it is expected that more teams will be heading further afield again to either the United States of America or Asia.
Arsenal are yet to announce a full training camp location for their pre-season but they do have one fixture already confirmed which drops a big clue.
The Gunners are going to be coming up against an MLS All-Star team in Washington D.C. which will be coached by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. That takes place on July 19 and it is hard to imagine that Arsenal will only play one game in America.
A semi-regular fixture of Arsenal’s pre-seasons in recent years has been the Emirates Cup, but there has not been any word on whether an edition of that will be taking place or not this summer. If there is, then Arsenal could be splitting their time between America and London.
All times BST.
As is the case for almost every big club in football now, all of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies are expected to be televised live on Arsenal.com and their official app with a subscription.
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