Arsenal went into their Europa League clash against Sporting Lisbon hoping to make it three wins in a row in the competition. After a goalless first half, the Gunners pressed hard, and their strategy paid off in the 77th minute when Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the match to seal all the three points for his side.
Here is how the Arsenal players were rated in their narrow win against Sporting Lisbon.
Bernd Leno: 7
A clean sheet for the German international. A real confidence booster.
Stephan Lichtsteiner: 6
The experienced campaigner was defensively very sound. Struggled a bit while going up the pitch.
Sokratis Papatathopoulos: 6
A decent comeback for the Greek after a short injury layoff. Did well to keep the Sporting strikers quiet.
Rob Holding: 7
Showed maturity to guard the goal well and help Leno keep a clean sheet.
Granit Xhaka: 6.5
Did well in his new position and used his pace to get the ball up the pitch.
Mohamed Elneny: 5.5
Mediocre performance from the Egyptian in front of the backline. Could have done better.
Matteo Guendouzi: 7
Kept a continuous supply of the ball into the attacking third and helped in initiating attacks.
Aaron Ramsey: 6.5
Agile and composed as ever. Marshalled his troops well.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6
Got the ball into the opposition box consistently. Did not look threatening though.
Danny Welbeck: 8
Was breathing over the shoulders of the Sporting defenders all night. Was unfortunate to have a goal disallowed earlier from a brilliant header. However, Welbeck got the deserved goal via a very well taken finish through the legs of the Sporting goalie Ribeiro.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang: 6
His brilliant flick set up the goal-scoring opportunity for Welbeck. However, failed to carry his form from the match against Leicester City.
Substitutes
Lucas Torreira: 7
Made a huge impact on the game since coming on for Elneny. Held the ball well and passed into the right areas to initiate attacks. Had a brilliant free-kick parried away by Ribeiro.
Alexandre Lacazette: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating
Alex Iwobi: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
