Our 5-1 success against Sporting CP will live long in the minds of all Gooners as we put the Portuguese champions to the sword in Lisbon, and has also forced its way into our record books.
That’s because it is our joint-biggest away win in our European Cup and Champions League history, matching the famous 5-1 win against Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2003. It is the third time we have recorded a four-goal winning margin on our travels in Europe’s premier club competition, which also includes a 4-0 win against PSV Eindhoven in 2002:
When it comes to all European competitions, our win in Lisbon sits joint-third on our all-time biggest away wins, with the 7-0 rout of Standard Liege in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup still top of the tree, and is indeed the largest win on our travels in any competition.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/11/1993 | Standard Liege | 7-0 | Cup Winners' Cup |
| 25/09/1963 | Copenhagen XI | 7-1 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup |
| 25/11/2003 | Inter Milan | 5-1 | Champions League |
| 26/11/2024 | Sporting CP | 5-1 | Champions League |
| 15/04/2021 | Slavia Prague | 4-0 | Europa League |
| 25/09/2002 | PSV | 4-0 | Champions League |
The result was made all the more remarkable in that this was Sporting's first defeat at home across all competitions in over a year, as we ended a 30-match unbeaten run as we ran riot. We scored five or more goals in an away match in the Champions League for only the third time, and for the first time since October 2008 when we recorded a 5-2 victory at Fenerbahce.
We accumulated an xG of 3.89, our most on record for a match in the competition (since 2013/14):
| Date | Opponent | Score | Venue | xG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26/11/2024 | Sporting CP | W 5-1 | A | 3.89 |
| 28/09/2016 | Basel | W 2-0 | H | 3.05 |
| 24/11/2015 | Dinamo Zagreb | W 3-0 | H | 2.95 |
| 29/11/2023 | Lens | W 6-0 | H | 2.58 |
| 26/11/2013 | Marseille | W 2-0 | H | 2.56 |
Sporting will also be glad to see the back of us, and will want to avoid a potential meeting in the knockout stages given that we now lost none of our seven games against the Poetuguese champions, which is the most we’ve faced an opponent in major European competition without ever losing.
| Opponent | P | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting CP | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Standard Liege | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Fenerbahce | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Lazio | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Marseille | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Slavia Prague | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Sparta Prague | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
It was just the third time we have had five different Gunners on the scoresheet (excluding own goals) in a major European away match, following on from the six that netted against Standard Liege in 1993, and the five that found the net at Fenerbache in 2008.
As for those five goalscorers, each hit a milestone including Bukayo Saka, who starred by grabbing a goal and an assist. That was the fourth time he’d achieved that feat in his 13 Champions League appearances so far, meaning he’s done that in 31% of his matches in the competition - the highest of any player who has done so at least three times.
| Player | Games | Games With Goal + Assist | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bukayo Saka | 13 | 4 | 31% |
| Eric Carriere | 17 | 4 | 24% |
| Lars Stindl | 19 | 4 | 21% |
| Mark Viduka | 17 | 3 | 18% |
| Dwight Yorke | 36 | 6 | 17% |
| Luis Fabiano | 18 | 3 | 17% |
| Julian Alvarez | 22 | 3 | 14% |
| Lionel Messi | 163 | 22 | 13% |
My apologies that I don't have all-time assists. But Bukayo Saka has become the 6th player to register both 60+ goals and 60+ assists for the #Arsenal since the 1988-89 season:
— Tom Ede (@TomEde1) November 26, 2024
Thierry Henry
Dennis Bergkamp
Paul Merson
Theo Walcott
Robert Pires
Saka
Not bad company to be in
Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli maintained his club record of never losing when scoring, which extends to 39 games, while Kai Havertz netted the 100th club goal of his career, with our German striker netting 46 for Bayer Leverkusen, 32 for Chelsea and now 22 for us.
Each of Gabriel’s last eight goals for us have been with his head, the longest such run for us since Per Mertesacker nodded in nine in a row between 2012 and 2017, and super sub Leandro Trossard netted off the bench for the eighth time since the start of last season - only Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran has more when it comes to Premier League players. He and Havertz have also not been on the losing side when scoring, reaching 21 games each.
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