Arsenal supporters will have the chance on Thursday to watch former Gunner Hector Bellerin back on the pitch once again, however, this time he will be wearing the green and white hoops of Sporting CP. Bellerin played with Arsenal from 2012 to 2022. He made 239 appearances and scored 9 goals during his time as a Gunner.
Sporting CP is managed by Ruben Amorim. The club is currently is 4th on Portugal’s Primeire Liga table with 15 wins, 2 draws and six defeats.
This is a club that has never beaten Arsenal in international competition. The Gunners series record v Sporting is 1 win, 1 draw and 0 defeats.
This is the first lego of Arsenal’s Round of 16 Europa League competition. The 2nd leg moves back to Emirates Stadium next Thursday.
This that said, here’s my predicted Arsenal starting XI on Thursday at Estadio Jose Alvalade…
[4-3-3]
Nelson, Martinelli, Smith Rowe
Jorginho, Vieira, Odegaard
Zinchenko, Gabriel. Holding, Tomiyasu
Turner
Predicted final score: Sporting CP 1 – ARSENAL 2
COYG!
Gunner1953
Borussia Dortmund has been added to the Arsenal 2026/2027 pre-season schedule with the game to be played in Emirates Stadium on August 9th. This will be the 2026 Emirates Cup match.
Yup super excited.Hopefully we go all the way,COYG.