Arsenal resume their Europa League campaign on Thursday and there are a few familiar faces in the Sporting Lisbon side.
The Portuguese side dropped out of the Champions League, where they were in the same group as Tottenham and actually got a win and a draw against the north London side.
Mikel Arteta’s side head to Portugal for the first leg of their last-16 clash and will undoubtedly be the favourites.
The Gunners are on the title charge as they look to win their first Premier League since 2004, currently holding a five point lead over Man City.
The Europa League also presents Arsenal with a glorious chance of winning more silverware, something that has eluded them since the 1993/94 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
They have lost in the final of the Champions League in 2006 and most recently the Europa League final, to Chelsea, in 2019.
A place in the quarter-finals are up for grabs over the two legs against Sporting – with the first on Thursday live on talkSPORT 2 at 5.45pm.
There are a few familiar faces among the Portuguese team, chief among them Hector Bellerin.
The 27-year-old was an Arsenal stalwart for a number of years, playing 239 times for them after joining their academy from Barcelona in 2011.
In September 2022, his contract with the Gunners was terminated and he returned to his boyhood club Barcelona.
Bellerin played just seven times for the Catalan club before joining Sporting on loan for the rest of the season.
Another name who fans will probably recognise is that of Marcus Edwards, the formers Tottenham youngster who has turned into a star at the Portuguese club.
He even scored against his old side in the Champions League this season, one of his 10 so far this campaign, and will no doubt be hoping to make it a north London double.
Edwards has scored against the Gunners before while he was playing for Vitoria in the Europa League, although he was on the wrong end of a 3-2 defeat.
Sporting’s captain is Sebastian Coates, a former Liverpool player. He featured 24 times for the Reds before joining Sunderland on a permanent deal in 2015.
He lasted just six months at the club before going to Sporting on loan and that move was made permanent in 2017.
Francisco Trincao has more recent Premier League experience having spent last season on loan at Wolves from Barcelona.
He made 30 appearances in all competitions before joining the Portuguese side for the 2022/23 season.
Listen to live coverage of Arsenal’s trip to Sporting Lisbon on Thursday on talkSPORT 2 with kick-off at 5:45pm.
Source link: https://talksport.com/football/1355895/arsenal-sporting-europa-league-familiar-players/
