Arsenal embarrass Manchester City and upset Amorim with their perfect European performance

Arsenal were so phenomenal in the win over Sporting that you wonder why they don’t do it all the time. Ruben Amorim couldn’t have enjoyed that.

Basic arithmetic suggests that throughout the history of association football there must have been better team performances over a half, but I certainly couldn’t think of one during the break in Portugal arsenal had confirmed fears that they might well come back.

Ruben Amorim will have watched Manchester United’s upcoming opponents take on his former club Sporting, for business reasons and the prospect of pleasure for himself staged the destruction of Manchester City last time in the Champions League. The manager’s reaction was perhaps not too dissimilar to that of Vito Corleone, who looked at his fallen creation and complained about how they massacred his boy by an even more egregious result.

Sporting had suffered just two defeats in their last 52 games over 90 minutes; The last defeat by more than one goal occurred in January 2023, 97 games ago. They faced the Arsenal team, beat them and collapsed This March was very good in the Europa League, but this beast is at least a few developments further this cycle.

When they play like they did in the first half, it’s hard not to wonder why Arsenal don’t just do that all the time. It’s not nearly as easy, of course, but they certainly make it look like it’s in full swing. The machine is an unforgettable sight when all the wheels are in place and everything clicks.

The first two goals were a masterful team effort from close range. In the first ten minutes, Arsenal fired three almost identical balls over the goal from either side, each time opening doors into the corridor of uncertainty, as if Mystery Inc. were fleeing from a malevolent janitor in disguise. If you distort the pronunciation of his last name a little, Sporting left-back Maximiliano Araujo even sounds a bit like Scooby Doo reacting to having to defend against Bukayo Saka.

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Finally, Gabriel Martinelli converted a center from Jurrien Timber and extended the lead.

The second goal was wonderful. A stunning ball over the top from Thomas Partey found Saka, whose presence of mind to shoot the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs on the run to Kai Havertz in the middle was absurd.

The third was the exclamation point: Gabriel’s trademark header from a corner, followed by his own interpretation of Viktor Gyokeres’ great celebration.

It seemed like the Sporting striker would never get the chance to show it himself. Gabriel and William Saliba took care of the management Europe’s top goalscorer this year with ridiculous ease that barely gave the Swede a moment to breathe.

Even when Sporting improved significantly in the second half, Gyokeres struggled to make any impact at all, despite being an absolute handful throughout. His evening ended with a free kick from the edge of the box that was sent high into the stands as the momentum noticeably began to change.

This was neither his night nor a host’s. Sporting’s effort and attitude was admirable until the bitter end, but Arsenal were sensational. The run of one win in eight European away games was blown away by five different goalscorers and even the opportunity to do a few defensive drills in the middle of the game.

Another version of this Arsenal team might have collapsed when Goncalo Inacio scored less than two minutes into the second half. Sporting’s attack came in the next half hour with eight shots and more than two thirds of possession, but the visitors rose to the occasion. Even better: Saka converted a penalty in between, restoring the three-goal lead.

Arsenal’s game management was impeccable and even Sporting’s goal can be seen as a positive, highlighting the importance of focus and focus at this level. It was a test that Arsenal handled ridiculously well, allowing Mikel Arteta to make his five substitutions guilt-free and Leandro Trossard another goal from the bench.

That couldn’t be right a sharper contrast to their last European appearance. Liverpool have become an unexpected hurdle both domestically and on the continent, but Arsenal have at least rediscovered their brilliance at the very moment Manchester City were hilariously losing them.