Thursday night’s Europa League tie between Arsenal and Sporting had begun in a lively fashion with both sides playing their part, and it was the Gunners who eventually took the lead thanks to a thumping striker from Granit Xhaka.
The Swiss was on hand to deliver a vital goal for Mikel Arteta’s side as the north Londoners look to progress to the quarter finals of European football’s secondary competition.
In what had been a very open game to that point, the goal came at the perfect time to settle any nerves.
Pictures from BT Sport and NBC Sports Soccer/CBS Sports Golazo