Midfielders
Granit Xhaka opened the scoring with his first goal since October. (Photo by Nigel French/Getty Images)
Jorginho (DM) – 6/10 – Certainly one of Arsenal’s better performers in possession and he played an instrumental role in the Gunners’ opener. Poor out of possession, though, and Thomas Partey’s presence was most certainly needed.
Granit Xhaka (CM) – 6/10 – Scored his first goal since mid-October as he followed in Gabriel Martinelli’s saved attempt. Positioning caused a few problems, but he dithered in possession at times.
Fabio Vieira (CM) – 4/10 – Threw himself to the ground a few times in an attempt to con Lahoz, but the Spaniard didn’t have any of it early on. Struggled to get into the contest from a creative perspective as physical deficiencies manifested.
Continued on the next slide…
#UEL</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/03/16/arsenal-1-1-sporting-cp-player-ratings-gunners-exit-uel/2/"https://t.co/oSeO569ijF">pic.twitter.com/oSeO569ijF
<p>— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/03/16/arsenal-1-1-sporting-cp-player-ratings-gunners-exit-uel/2/"https://twitter.com/footballontnt/status/1636481743883476994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 16, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p><strong>Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – 6/10 –</strong> Caught out from the halfway line but made a monster save (with his face) to deny Marcus Edwards soon after. Safe hands throughout, but poor in the shootout.</p>
<p><strong>Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – N/A –</strong> Forced off in the opening stages.</p>
<p><strong>William Saliba (CB) – N/A –</strong> Another who was withdrawn early due to injury. Supporters will be sweating over his status.</p>
<p><strong>Gabriel (CB) – 7.5/10 –</strong> The Brazilian made a couple of timely interventions to deny Paulinho. Rarely flummoxed in possession, and was one of few stable forces for the Gunners.</p>
<p><strong>Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) – 5/10 –</strong> Struggled in the first leg and wasn’t too much better here. Wasn’t particularly influential with the ball, and was caught out a couple of times by Sporting’s directness in possession.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/03/16/arsenal-1-1-sporting-cp-player-ratings-gunners-exit-uel/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Midfielders </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Midfielders</h2>
<div id="attachment_132997" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-132997" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/03/16/arsenal-1-1-sporting-cp-player-ratings-gunners-exit-uel/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2132,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1248390506.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2132" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1248390506.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1248390506-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Granit Xhaka opened the scoring with his first goal since October. (Photo by Nigel French/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Jorginho (DM) – 6/10 –</strong> Certainly one of Arsenal’s better performers in possession and he played an instrumental role in the Gunners’ opener. Poor out of possession, though, and Thomas Partey’s presence was most certainly needed.</p>
<p><strong>Granit Xhaka (CM) – 6/10 –</strong> Scored his first goal since mid-October as he followed in Gabriel Martinelli’s saved attempt. Positioning caused a few problems, but he dithered in possession at times.</p>
<p><strong>Fabio Vieira (CM) – 4/10 –</strong> Threw himself to the ground a few times in an attempt to con Lahoz, but the Spaniard didn’t have any of it early on. Struggled to get into the contest from a creative perspective as physical deficiencies manifested.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/03/16/arsenal-1-1-sporting-cp-player-ratings-gunners-exit-uel/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Forwards & Subs </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Forwards</h2>
<div id="attachment_132998" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-132998" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/03/16/arsenal-1-1-sporting-cp-player-ratings-gunners-exit-uel/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1248390472.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1248390472.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1248390472-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Gabriel Jesus enjoyed a 45-minute cameo on Thursday night. (Photo by Nigel French/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Reiss Nelson (RW) – 4.5/10 –</strong> Offered more defensively than he did going the other way, unfortunately.</p>
<p><strong>Gabriel Jesus (ST) – 6.5/10 –</strong> Took a little while to get involved in the contest, but he was lively once he did. Almost scored his first goal since October but was smartly denied by Adan. No surprise he was replaced by Leandro Trossard at half-time.</p>
<p><strong>Gabriel Martinelli (LW) – 6/10 –</strong> Darting runs in behind were menacing and he latched onto Jorginho’s pass in the first half which led to his side’s opening goal. Always wanted to get involved but he wasn’t particularly effective.</p>
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<h2>Substitutes</h2>
<p><strong>Ben White – 5.5/10</strong></p>
<p><strong>Rob Holding – 6/10</strong></p>
<p><strong>Leandro Trossard – 5.5/10</strong></p>
<p><strong>Thomas Partey – 6/10</strong></p>
<p><strong>Bukayo Saka – 5.5/10</strong></p>
<p><strong>Martin Odegaard – 6/10</strong></p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
