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Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate Marcus Edwards will look to knock Arsenal out of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (March 16) as he faces the north Londoners with Sporting CP.
Edwards made only one senior appearance for Spurs before his 2019 move to Vitoria Guimaraes. He joined Sporting on a permanent transfer in January 2022 for a fee of €7.67 million.
Edwards has made a total of 54 appearances for the Portuguese club, scoring 13 goals and providing 14 assists. He has scored 26 goals in 113 matches in Liga Portugal and is the highest scoring Englishman in the history of the league. Edwards has been a crucial player for Sporting so far this season, scoring 10 goals and providing 11 assists in 39 matches.
With the aggregate score against Arsenal level at 2-2 after the first leg, there is everything to play for in the second leg. Whether Edwards can influence his team to a win remains to be seen.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke ahead of the clash against Sporting CP
Speaking to the media ahead of Arsenal's clash against Sporting CP, Mikel Arteta was quizzed about whether the Europa League is a distraction to the team's pursuit of Premier League glory.
Arteta provided a pragmatic response, saying (via Arsenal's official website):
"No. We haven't had big European nights for three years due to COVID especially. Tomorrow is probably the first one that we've had for a while and hopefully, we'll build a really good atmosphere and enjoy it. Our supporters will be there against a really good team that is going to put a big challenge in front of us."
Arteta also named tennis legend Rafael Nadal as one of his idols. The Spanish coach said
"Someone that I've admired for a long, long time is Rafael Nadal because of his mentality, what he's done and the way he's done it, and how many times he's bounced back. So he will be top of the list for sure."
Arteta's team are currently at the top of the Premier League table, with 66 points from 27 games. The Gunners lead second-placed Manchester City by five points.
They are also currently leading the clash against Sporting by a goal as Granit Xhaka opened the scoring in the 19th minute.
