Three things we learned from Arsenal win as Viktor Gyokeres return falls flat | OneFootball

Arsenal get the result they needed after a recent slump as Max Dowman offers another glimpse of his talent

Mikel Arteta wanted Arsenal to show their identity in Lisbon and he got his wish, both good and bad.

This was a 90-minute display that displayed Arsenal's resilience and defensive strength, but so too the shortcomings in attack.

Arsenal, though, found a way against a strong side, one that had won their last 17 matches in a row on home soil.

Kai Havertz struck in the first minute of stoppage-time and now Arteta's side are perfectly poised to reach the semi-finals.

Arsenal get the lift they need

Not at all entertaining, familiar problems still present, but this was an important night for Arsenal.

It would have been disastrous for them to resume their Premier League campaign this weekend at home to Bournemouth off the back of three straight defeats.

After being well-beaten in the Carabao Cup final and then knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton, the Gunners had to steady the ship.

Arsenal left it late to beat Sporting CP

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Arteta called at his pre-match press conference for Arsenal to lean on the "identity" that had got them this far, seemingly hinting at their work off the ball.

One moment stood out early in the second half. Sporting broke from a corner and still had numbers forward even when David Raya rushed off his line to head it away.

The red shirts charged back from all angles and got into position to force Francisco Trincao to slow down and turn back. Arteta had both hands above his head applauding the work-rate.

Grinding out a narrow in against a very good side, a reward for the big effort put in, could be just the lift this Arsenal side need.

Dowman pushing for bigger role

For all this was a great result, Arsenal's attack did not work.

Even with Havertz scoring from close-range the xG tally only reached 0.78. In the opening 45 minutes, Arsenal registered their second-lowest xG total for any first-half this season.

Martin Odegaard had a tame effort from distance, Gabriel Martinelli tested the goalkeeper from range too, but Arsenal did not look like scoring.

There was lots of passing, most of it considered and safe, but once more the Gunners lacked for creativity. Odegaard's return has not been the spark Arsenal had hoped.

Mikel Arteta turned to Max Dowman in the second half with Arsenal struggling to break down Sporting CP

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The most likely source of it right now looks to be Max Dowman. Within a few minutes of coming on in Lisbon he had been hacked down three times.

The 16-year-old lost it a couple of times but that was when he was trying to make things happen. Arsenal need more of that.

Dowman was the best player in the defeat at Southampton on Saturday too. He has only played 43 minutes of Premier League football, but there is a strong argument that Dowman needs a much bigger role in the run-in.

Gyokeres return falls flat

After all the build-up, it was not a hero's welcome back to Lisbon for Gyokeres but nor was it anything remotely hostile.

There were high-fives from stewards on his way into the stadium and a smattering of applause for him in the warm-up.

It was all very low-key, much like Gyokeres' performance on the pitch. Those high up in the Estadio Jose Alvalade could be forgiven for wanting to double check that Arsenal's No14 was definitely the striker that scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting.

That was certainly not just his fault. Gyokeres had nothing to work with and Arsenal did very little to try and bring him into the match.

Viktor Gyokeres had a quiet night on his return to Lisbon

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He had nine touches in the first half, two of which came in the Sporting box but both with his back to goal and no hint of a threat.

That bar was raised slightly after the break. Gyokeres was well offside in the build-up to Zubimendi's disallowed strike, but he at least got himself involved.

Shortly after, he fired straight at Rui Silva after working space for himself in the box.

That was a much warmer reception for Gyokeres at full-time when he did a lap of the pitch. That was as good as it got on a night that passed him by.