Europa League: Arsenal, Sporting End In Draw As Tie Remains Undecided For Second Leg

In a highly entertaining match in Lisbon on Thursday, Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon played to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

The match featured a number of exciting moments and provided a thrilling spectacle for fans watching around the world.

Mikel Arteta's side started the match brightly, with William Saliba heading home from a Fabio Vieira corner to give the Gunners the lead after 22 minutes.

However, Sporting responded quickly, with Goncalo Inacio heading in a corner from former Tottenham midfielder Marcus Edwards just minutes later.

The match continued to ebb and flow, with both sides creating chances and looking to take control of the match. In the second half, Sporting took the lead after Edwards' clever reverse pass split open the Arsenal defence, with Pedro Goncalves' shot deflected and Paulinho reacting quickest to finish.

Arsenal continued to push forward and were eventually rewarded when Granit Xhaka's pass found Gabriel Martinelli, whose shot was deflected into the net by Hidemasa Morita to bring the Gunners level just after the hour mark.

The match continued to be played at a high tempo, with both sides looking for a winner, but neither was able to find the back of the net again.

Arsenal did come close to scoring a winner, with Martinelli almost scoring a brilliant individual goal, but his attempt was foiled by a last-ditch tackle from Sporting defender Jeremiah St. Juste.

The draw means that the tie is finely poised heading into the second leg in London next week.

Arsenal will be looking to use their home advantage to secure a place in the quarterfinals, while Sporting will be hoping to cause an upset and progress to the next round.