Welbeck strike decisive as Arsenal win at Sporting

Danny Welbeck’s late goal was enough to maintain Arsenal’s perfect record in the Europa League group stages with a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon.

There were starts for summer signings Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, and Sokratis, and the measure of how seriously Unai Emery might be taking the competition was shown by the presence of Rob Holding in defence, with Carl Jenkinson on the bench. The Arsenal manager was perhaps prioritising Sunday’s visit to Selhurst Park, where they face Crystal Palace.

There were few chances in the early stages, but there was a flash of danger when Bruno Fernandes’ looping volley flew over the bar – with his boot catching Lichtsteiner’s forehead.

Later in the first half, Sebastian Coates was fortunate to concede just a free kick when he brought down Alex Iwobi on the edge of the box, though Henrikh Mkhitaryan saw his fierce free kick palmed away. It was the first of several errors from Coates.

AS IT HAPPENED: Sporting Lisbon 0 – 1 Arsenal

READ MORE: Fulham goalkeeper Bettinelli signs new deal

READ MORE: Brozovic and Miranda among Inter players awarded new contracts

Holding was at fault when he stood off former Manchester United winger Luis Nani, now back at his boyhood club, and he curled a shot from distance just over the top corner with Leno scrambling to cover. Seconds later, Sokratis and Fredy Montero came together with the Greek defender as the last man, but the referee perhaps generously allowed play to continue given he had fistfuls of his shirt in his hand. The result was in the balance, with Arsenal often on the back foot.

Neither team was able to make a breakthrough in the first half, but in the second Montero’s diving header went just wide in the opening stages when he was picked out by Nani’s clever free kick.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed the best chance of the game so far when he latched onto Aaron Ramsey’s superb through ball, only to see Roman Ribeiro palm his poor shot away from goal. As the pressure grew, Matteo Guendouzi’s skillful cutback for Danny Welbeck saw the forward’s effort deflected agonisingly wide, and Welbeck later had a headed goal disallowed for a perceived foul on Bruno Gaspar.

With 13 minutes of normal time remaining, a Coates error – no surprise to those who watched him at Liverpool and Sunderland – allowed Welbeck through on goal to score his fifth goal of the season. The Arsenal defence was put under late pressure as Sporting chased an equaliser, but Emery’s side held on to go three points clear at the top.

The game ended with an air of slight farce as Coates made a poor performance worse, headbutting Lichtsteiner with only a few minutes remaining, but the referee missed the action and let the defender go unpunished.