Arsenal’s journey to Sporting Lisbon is a story of reunions, old rivals and old faces. But the Gunners could pay the price if they read too much into that distracting narrative.
Arsenal’s childhood star Héctor Bellerín will enjoy an emotional hug with some of his former teammates at the Estadio José Alvalade as he tries to outdo his former employers, and former Tottenham player Marcus Edwards, once compared to Lionel Messi 0 will be a sure threat and looks to continue his rise against the Premier League leaders.
There will even be a Liverpool alumnus in Sebastian Coates in the arena. But this Europa League clash isn’t about the old: it’s very much about the new.
If you were an Arsenal player who sat in on Mikel Arteta’s pre-match briefing for this game, you can be almost certain that he alerted his team to the presence of two young talents: centre-back Goncalo Inacio and midfielder Manuel Urgarte. .
These are two of the most sought after stars in Europe and both are enjoying excellent seasons for Sporting.
Arsenal will face a host of Premier League misfits such as former striker Héctor Bellerin (left) and Sebastián Coates (right) when they take on Sporting Lisbon.
Mikel Arteta will have to watch out for Sporting’s young talent during the Europa League clash
Defender Inácio has started all but three of the club’s league games this season and has been a cornerstone in their back-line, while also acting as a creative outlet as a central defender who plays with the ball and has an excellent variety of passes.
Holding midfielder Ugarte, a Uruguay international, is being linked with the likes of Barcelona and Tottenham and it’s not hard to see why. He is an aggressive player who is decisive and assertive in getting the ball back and makes positive runs when he has possession.
The duo, both 21, will play a key role in Sporting’s hopes of defeating the Premier League side, but it’s the midfield battle that will be most crucial in setting the pace for how this clash will play out.
Playing primarily in the four-man midfield center of Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system, Ugarte will be tasked with cutting off Arsenal’s creative outlets such as Martin Odegaard and disrupting their pace.
Manuel Ugarte is being hunted by some of the best teams after his combative displays from midfield
Center back Goncalo Inacio (R) has also impressed with some neat performances at the back.
Thomas Partey has been lauded this season for his performances that have helped transform Arsenal into title contenders, but defensively Ugarte outshines the Ghanaian international when it comes to statistics.
Without the ball, Ugarte is relentless and will go after everything in sight. In 18 top-flight games in Portugal this season, he has accumulated 12.06 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, 5.15 interceptions, 18.17 defensive actions and 12.40 defensive duels.
The Premier League and the Primeira Liga are very different divisions, but the figures show that Partey has managed just 10.84 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, 6.25 defensive duels, 4.59 interceptions and 11.02 defensive actions.
Ugarte has also won 2.27 dribbles against for 90, compared to Partey’s 1.13.
In a creative sense, Partey’s stats reflect more favorably, making more passes for 90 than Ugarte (59.86 to 51.49) and far more progressive passes (8.34 to 4.36 for 90 for Ugarte). However, Ugarte triumphs when it comes to haggling.
A hallmark of his game is his charged runs down midfield and that is reflected in his total dribbles for 90 (2.83) and successful dribbles (2.10), while Partey has 1.25 total and 1.07 successful dribbles.
Ugarte is strong and assertive with 12.06 ball recoveries per 90 minutes this season
His defensive stats are more favorable than those of Thomas Partey, who is superior creatively.
Ugarte also surpasses Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka defensively, making more passes per 90, more interceptions, more ball recoveries and dribbles.
His combative and energetic displays have been hailed by the Portuguese press, with A Bola praising his efforts in the last round when the team defeated FC Midtylland 5-1 on aggregate.
The publication said he put in a ‘tireless’ performance in the first leg, saying he ‘looked like he was made of steel’.
Inácio, meanwhile, is said to have been tracked down by Liverpool in recent weeks after his commanding and orderly displays at the back.
Though still a young player and not yet proven in the big leagues, he impressed in the Champions League this season, helping keep clean sheets against Tottenham and Frankfurt and contributing to nine more shutouts in the Primeira Liga, where the team lost. currently finds. four.
His stats are also a good read and put him in the same company as Arsenal’s two main centre-backs, William Saliba and Gabriel Margalhaes.
Inácio has won 1.83 defensive duels out of 90, compared to Saliba’s 1.36 and Gabriel’s 1.39. In addition, he has won 1.43 dribbles against for 90, while Saliba has 0.72 and Gabriel 0.99.
Inacio has won more duels per 90 minutes than Arsenal’s defensive pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Margalhaes
He has also won more of their aerial duels by 90 (45.74) than Saliba (43.04), but Gabriel has the advantage over him in that stat (47.47).
The two from Arsenal are also doing better in interceptions -Inacio has 3.70 for 90, while Saliba has made 3.95 and Gabriel 4.52- and ball recoveries for 90 (Saliba 11.74, Gabriel 11.37 , Inacio 9.92).
Creatively, Inácio’s passing ability stands out with 73.51 total passes per 90 compared to 56.90 for Saliba and 52.72 for Gabriel – and 9.87 progressive passes per 90. Saliba has made 6.47 progressive passes per 90 and Gabriel 7.41.
Both legs will be key for Inácio and Ugarte to shine and prove themselves against the inevitable clubs that will be watching to see how they fare against another great club.
They have already proven their quality in the biggest competition of all in the Champions League, but a clash against the Premier League leaders will arguably be the biggest test of their mettle yet.
The onus will fall on the likes of Edwards, who has nine goals and six assists this season and was compared to Messi by former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino to propel Sporting along with top scorer Pedro Goncalves, who has 15 goals and seven assists.
But Sporting are famous for producing and developing the best young talent and Inácio and Ugarte could make a real statement if Arteta and his players haven’t done their homework on the duo.