Walking wounded leave Arteta with big repairs after hard exit

MIKEL ARTETA wanted this to be a “special night”, but instead it was a costly and painful one.

- Simon Collings

Arsenal are out of the Europa League after Sporting beat them on penalties, and this was the worst way to lose.

By the end, Arteta’s side resembled the walking wounded, and any hope of resting players for the visit of Crystal Palace on Sunday were long gone.

That was already a huge game but the importance of it has increased. Arsenal’s only focus is now the title and the perfect way to bounce back from defeat last night is to beat Palace and go eight points clear of Manchester City.

Arteta will need to lift his squad, though, as by the end of this last-16 tie all of his regular starters were on the pitch as they tried to find the goal that would spare them from penalties.

William Saliba was the only one missing, with the centre-back forced to come off with a back injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu was another casualty, twisting his knee in the opening 10 minutes and leaving Emirates Stadium on crutches.