Arsenal did what Manchester City couldn’t do earlier this month by heading to the Jose Alvalade Stadium and picking up all three points with a dominant display on Tuesday evening.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to Inter Milan before the international break, which left them on just seven points from four games in Europe.
A trip to Sporting, who smashed City 4-1 in their previous Champions League match, was always going to be a tricky test.
But Arsenal hit the ground running with early goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz to silence the home crowd with Gabriel Magalhaes adding a third just before the break.
The hosts raced out the blocks at the restart and pulled one back through Goncalo Inacio with Arsenal struggling to cope with the relentless pressure.
Arsenal romped to victory against Sporting Lisbon
REUTERS
Sporting wasted several opportunities with David Raya coming to Arsenal’s rescue on several occasions before they won a penalty after Martin Odegaard’s mazy run into the opposition box.
Bukayo Saka confidently dispatched the penalty to regain Arsenal’s three-goal lead and put them back in control before Leandro Trossard rounded things off at the end.
GB News takes a look at four things learned from Arsenal’s impressive win away in Portugal.
Martin Odegaard the real deal
The Arsenal skipper was always tipped for superstardom from a young age, but it’s at Arsenal where Odegaard has truly lived up to his potential and that was on full display against Sporting.
The 25-year-old led from the front and was at the centre of everything positive about Arsenal’s attacking play.
He singlehandedly got Arsenal back on track in the second half with some brilliant footwork bamboozling the Sporting defence before winning his side a penalty.
Odegaard was severely missed by Mikel Arteta when he was injured and they look a far better unit with him back in the starting line-up.
Thomas Partey finding top form
Perhaps the surprise of the season has been Thomas Partey’s re-emergence from the wilderness at Arsenal and he’s quickly established himself as one of the first names back on the teamsheet.
Injuries have plagued Partey’s career at the Emirates and he looked set to be sold at one stage this past summer.
But Arteta seemingly felt the need to keep hold of the Ghana international and it’s beginning to pay off with Partey rediscovering his best form to help protect Arsenal’s backline.
He’s formed a strong working partnership with Declan Rice in the defensive roles, allowing Odegaard the freedom further forward and will be a big miss if Arsenal allow him to rundown his contract at the end of the season.
Gabriel Martinelli improvements
There have been some doubts raised about Gabriel Martinelli’s progress at Arsenal over the past 18 months with the Brazilian struggling in front of goal.
He ended last season with just six goals in the league and Arteta appeared to be losing patience with the winger being dropped from the starting line-up on several occasions this campaign.
But Martinelli has begun to find some form in front of goal and shown glimpses of the raw talent who burst onto the scene a few years ago.
He scored an important goal in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea before the international break and showed his instincts by being in the right place at the right time for Arsenal’s opener against Sporting.
Arteta is going to need the young Brazilian to produce more of the same in front of goal as Arsenal attempt to keep tabs of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
David Raya to the rescue
It ended up being a comfortable victory for Arsenal in the end, but it could have been very different if it weren’t for David Raya.
The Spaniard has come up trumps for Arsenal this season time and time again and the was at it once more against Sporting with a handful of magical saves.
Just as Sporting were getting back into the match and showing signs of clawing back to a one-goal deficit, Raya continued to deny them before Arsenal’s attacking prowess restored their original advantage.
Another top performance from the 29-year-old between the sticks.