In the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 matchups against Sporting CP, Arsenal was not at their best, with moments of sloppiness and disjointed play. However, they were able to leave Lisbon with a 2-2 draw after an eventful 90 minutes of football. Mikel Arteta made six changes to his starting lineup, with some changes forced upon him and others made in anticipation of upcoming fixtures as Arsenal continues to compete on multiple fronts, including the Premier League title chase. The impact of these changes was evident on the pitch, with Arsenal struggling in key moments and allowing Sporting to pose a threat on the counter. William Saliba opened the scoring for Arsenal with a towering header from a corner midway through the first half, but Sporting was able to equalize just 12 minutes later through Goncalo Inacio in a nearly identical fashion. The second half started in a frenetic manner, with Paulinho scoring for Sporting after Arsenal's defense had