Saka and Arsenal blow away Sporting to banish doubts on road in Europe

This was some response to charges of being shot shy. Arsenal’s lack of cutting edge on foreign trips had been the pre-match talking point but it turned out they had saved up a hiding for the continent’s form team.

Sporting had no answer to a masterful first-half display that was reflected accurately by strikes from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhães, all of whom exposed a grievously flaky backline. While the hosts were given hope by Gonçalo Inácio early in a more competitive second period they had too much to do. Arsenal went back through the gears when it mattered, Bukayo Saka’s penalty and a Leandro Trossard header dealing their ambitions of swift passage to the knockout stage a significant boost.

If Saturday’s straightforward win over Nottingham Forest had cleared a few heads around Arsenal, they arrived in Lisbon with another slate to wipe clean. Their away record in Europe has been substandard for almost two years and Arteta admitted in the buildup that something, whether it be by luck or judgment, needed to change. They had drawn blanks in their last four trips and, beginning with a 2-2 draw at this venue in March 2023, had won only one of their previous eight.

So here was their chance to produce a statement that might look particularly meaningful given Sporting had eviscerated Manchester City here three weeks previously. That night provided the most piquant of farewells for Ruben Amorim; now his successor, the former reserve-team coach Tiago Teixeira, was charged with maintaining such rattling momentum.

It was punctured within seven minutes and, having begun the game at some speed, Arsenal had advertised the opener’s arrival. Jurriën Timber was the creator, slipped in on the right by Declan Rice before curving a gorgeous low ball into the six-yard box. The cross was impossible to defend and, while it evaded Havertz, the recalled Martinelli was on hand to sweep in.

Martin Ødegaard waved his teammates forward as Sporting got things back under way, evidently keen that they sustain the blend of urgency and potency. The home side had, after all, responded ruthlessly to falling behind against City. They flurried here, the former Tottenham forward Marcus Edwards buzzing purposefully in his first Champions League action of the season, but it would not be long before Ødegaard’s wish came true.

This time it was Saka finding space in behind, fed by a clipped pass from Thomas Partey that sent him haring beyond Maximiliano Araújo. The goalkeeper Franco Israel advanced but Saka showed the presence of mind to nudge the ball across him with the outside of his left foot, leaving Havertz with the simplest of finishes from near the line.

A noisy venue, rightly buoyant at the outset, had been virtually silenced. As the half-hour passed, the only fireworks in David Raya’s penalty area had been those set off above it by the home support shortly after Havertz’s goal.

When the vaunted Viktor ­Gyökeres looked to run beyond Gabriel, the defender kept pace and the ball ­ultimately ran out of play.

After a break led by Ødegaard, who was purring, Saka again exploited Sporting’s clear right-sided weakness with a jink inside and shot that Israel held.

Rice then blasted wildly after another Saka effort had been blocked. Arsenal were dominant in every area and, moments after a rare moment of Sporting cohesion led to Raya tipping over from Geovany Quenda, they made the game safe.

There was no time for another Sporting restart after Gabriel rose in characteristic fashion to meet a high, deep left-sided corner from Rice and plant it beyond Israel. Arsenal had produced a near-perfect half of European football.

The last thing they needed to do was inject the remainder with unnecessary drama. So it changed the picture when, from a corner awarded when Raya pushed Hidemasa Morita’s shot wide, Inácio escaped Riccardo Calafiori and converted a controlled volley inside the near post. Only two minutes of the second half had passed and now the crowd, remembering how City had been blown away at the equivalent stage, were up again.

Gyökeres’ eyes lit up when he was presented with a free-kick well inside the ‘D’ but he blasted his shot into orbit. Then Raya had to prevent an Edwards cross from sneaking in, soon afterwards seeing the same player fire over at the end of a flowing move. Sporting were attacking in waves, neither team bearing the faintest resemblance to its first-half iteration, but from nowhere Arsenal were given the opportunity to restore order.

There was no disputing the spot-kick’s award. Ødegaard ran through Inácio far too easily and was clipped from behind by Ousmane Diomande when looking to find Saka. The decision for Szymon Marciniak, the referee, was simple and Saka did the rest. Then Trossard, reacting after Israel had parried his fellow substitute Mikel Merino’s effort, applied further gloss.