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Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Europa League rivals Sporting Lisbon to extend their winning streak to 11 games.
After a largely forgettable opening half, the Gunners gradually improved after the interval and took control of Group E with a 1-0 victory at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Welbeck had already seen a header chalked off for a foul but he was on hand to steer home in the 77th minute to settle the contest in favour of Unai Emery's side.
Granit Xhaka started in the unfamiliar role of left-back as Emery made six changes for the game in Portugal, with Welbeck one of those drafted in
The win means a draw in the return fixture at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight could be enough to seal Arsenal's progression into the last-32 with two games remaining.
The draw leaves both sides on seven points in Group E, with the return fixture at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight now seemingly pivotal as to who will become favourites to progress in first place.
Re-live the action below:
When is it?
Sporting vs Arsenal kicks off at 17:55 BST
Where to watch?
BT Sport will be showing live coverage on BT Sport 2 and online for customers on the BT Sport app and website.
Odds
Sporting to win: 3/1
Arsenal to win: 5/6
Draw: 11/4
Prediction
Sporting 0-2 Arsenal
1 min: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
In case there was any doubt about it, Xhaka is definitely at left-back for Arsenal. Mkhitaryan is on the right side of the attack, with Welbeck on the left.
2 mins: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
Sporting have an early corner...
2 mins: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
Guendouzi clears away at the near post.
3 mins: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
It's a decent start from the home side, who are dominating possession. Nani is out on the left hand side. Could be a busy night for Stefan Lichtsteiner.
5 mins: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
Arsenal are trying to work their way into this now, with Guendouzi and Ramsey both seeing a lot of the ball in the centre of the park.
7 minutes: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
Clever play from Sporting's left-back Acuna, who eases past Mkhitaryan and Lichtsteiner but fails to pick out Montero in the box.
8 minutes: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
Arsenal look to build their first attack of the evening as Xhaka launches a throw down the touchline towards Welbeck. Nothing comes of it.
10 minutes: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
Aaron Ramsey seems to be in a deeper role to the one he's been used in recently. You could say this is more of a 4-3-3 than a 4-2-3-1 for Arsenal. Whether that will change later on remains to be seen.
12 minutes: Sporting 0-0 Arsenal
The early stages of this match suggest that Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be in for a busy night. He's had to track back on a couple of occasions to deal with some marauding runs from left-back Marcos Acuna.
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