Arsenal out of Europa League after shootout defeat to Sporting

It was penalty shootout heartbreak for Arsenal at the end of an epic Europa League last-16 tie with Sporting, as Gabriel Martinelli's shot was saved from the spot to allow the Portuguese side to progress to the quarter-finals after the sides had drawn 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate.

Even before the shootout, which the visitors won 5-3, it was a second leg that had it all

Arsenal had looked on course to qualify relatively comfortably when Granit Xhaka tucked in the rebound from Martinelli's first-half shot but the Gunners failed to fire at all in the second half and were pegged back in sensational style by Pedro Goncalves' outrageous lob from the centre circle.

With Aaron Ramsdale scrambling back into his own goalmouth in vein, it was a strike which would have had Arsenal fans thinking of Nayim's 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final goal past David Seaman.

The drama kept coming, with Leandro Trossard's shot pushed onto a post in extra-time before Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan made another super stop to keep out Gabriel's header. The Arsenal defender was then denied in the 118th minute by a goal-line block from Ousmane Diomande before the visitors' Manuel Ugarte was sent off.

But in the end, Sporting prevailed, with Nuno Santos striking the winning penalty. With a five-point lead in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta's men must focus all of their energies on domestic matters, with Crystal Palace coming to the Emirates on Sunday.