Gunners fans react as Arsenal out of Europa League after losing to Sporting Lisbon

Arsenal lost to 10-man Sporting Lisbon on penalties, crashing out of the Europa League at the round of 16 stage in a thrilling match.Despite Granit Xhaka giving the Gunners the lead at the Emirates, Pedro Goncalves’ incredible 46-yard effort put Sporting level.

The match went end-to-end and the shootout was won 5-3 by Sporting after Gabriel Martinelli had his spot-kick saved.

This result means Manchester United is now the only English team left in the competition after beating Real Betis earlier that evening.

Mikel Arteta named a strong starting XI for the tie, even with the Premier League title race heating up. Arsenal began to put pressure on the Portuguese side with Gabriel Jesus at the heart of the Gunners’ attack.

Xhaka powered home after Antonio Adan could only parry Martinelli’s shot into the Swiss skipper’s path, giving Arsenal the lead after 19 minutes.

Despite being the better side in the first half, Arteta suffered two big blows early on with Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba forced off with injuries.

After the break, Sporting dominated proceedings, and Arsenal struggled to get a hold of possession.

However, the away team still struggled to test Aaron Ramsdale. Sporting had their first shot on target just after the hour, with Goncalves catching a hapless Ramsdale off guard to find the back of the net from the half-way line.

Both sides pushed for a winner, with Ramsdale denying ex-Tottenham player Marcus Edwards brilliantly, while Adan well-saved Fabio Vieira’s teasing free-kick.

The match went to extra-time, and each side showed signs of tiring. Adan made a miraculous save to deny Gabriel’s powerful header from a corner, and just seconds later, Sporting midfielder Manuel Ugarte was sent off for a second bookable offence after a reckless challenge on Bukayo Saka.

The match went to penalties, and each side scored their first three spot-kicks.

However, Martinelli’s saved spot-kick allowed Nuno Santos to power the winning penalty past Ramsdale, sending the Portuguese giants through to the quarter-finals.

Below is how fans reacted to Arsenal loss on Twitter: