18 March 2023 , 04:00
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Arsenal fans will still be reflecting on their agonising defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League on Thursday night.
With the aggregate score 2-2 after the first leg in Portugal, the Gunners took the lead through Granit Xhaka's first-half strike. Yet an audacious long-range effort from Pedro Goncalves levelled the tie - forcing extra time and a penalty shootout at the Emirates.
Gabriel Martinelli's missed penalty allowed Nuno Santos to send Sporting through to the quarter-finals. Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from their European exit when they take on Premier League rivals Crystal Palace at home on Sunday afternoon.
Here are the latest headlines from the Emirates ahead of that clash...
Odegaard's brutal assessment
Martin Odegaard insisted Arsenal "weren't on the level we should be" during their defeat to Sporting.
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The Gunners skipper told BT Sport, "I think we did enough in some periods of the game but most of the game we weren't on the level we should be. We didn't play our best football. It was a tight game in the end, it could have gone both ways.
Martin Odegaard's Arsenal lost to Sporting Lisbon on Thursday night (Getty Images)Do you think Arsenal will go on to win the Premier League title after their European exit? Let us know in the comments below!
"They are a good team, we knew that, we were prepared. It was more about us today, we didn't play the way we normally do with the same energy we normally do. Now we have to look forward. We have to remember it's been a great season.
"It's a big blow to go out of this competition. But now we look forward to the league, that's all we can do now. We win and lose together. It doesn't matter. When we're winning everyone is happy, when we lose we have to pick up the spirit. We win and lose together."
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Spurs rejoice in European exit
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara failed to contain his delight after Arsenal's Europa League exit on Thursday night.
After the winning penalty was scored, talkSPORT pundit O'Hara threw his hands up in the air in celebration and gritted his teeth. He then struggled to hold in his laughter as commentary continued before catching the eye of his fellow presenter Jason Cundy.
O'Hara, who was unable to interrupt the commentary, finished by waving to the camera. It is the second time a London club has been dumped out of a European competition this month after Tottenham lost to AC Milan in the Champions League.
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Arteta's blunt reply
Some critics believe Arsenal's European exit is a blessing in disguise but Mikel Arteta does not see it that way. They now have the opportunity to focus on the Premier League title race, as they sit five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
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"I cannot see it that way today," said Arteta when that idea was put to him.
The Arsenal manager continued, "I don’t know, if you go through the competition and win it, it’s magnificent, if it’s not, then it affects your plans in the league, that’s a different story. We wanted to go through and we put everything into it.
"The effort the boys put when it wasn’t our best day, individually and collectively, the hunger and the desire they showed to win, the way they were tracking back was incredible. They really wanted it and today it didn’t happen."
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